Detroit-area businessman Sandy Pensler has withdrawn from the Republican Senate race in Michigan just ahead of the state’s primary, throwing his support behind former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers for the party's nomination. Pensler made the announcement at Donald Trump’s rally in Grand Rapids on Saturday after being called onto the stage by the former president. Trump endorsed Rogers earlier this year and many in the party have begun to coalesce around Rogers, who served in the U.S. House for 14 years and chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
Pensler, who was seen as a long-shot candidate, had previously lost the GOP primary for Senate in 2018 by over 9 percentage points to now-U.S. Rep. John James. Stabenow announced that she would retire next year, opening up one of the most competitive seats in the nation.
With Pensler dropping his bid, Rogers’ only remaining high-profile opponent is Justin Amash, a former U.S. representative who left the GOP in 2019 after calling for the impeachment of Trump. Amash represented Grand Rapids from 2011 to 2021.
Democrats have coalesced around Rep. Elissa Slotkin as their candidate. She faces actor Hill Harper in the upcoming primary but holds a significant cash advantage. National Republicans had hoped Rogers would have an easy path to his party’s nomination, but the campaigns of former U.S. Reps. Amash and Peter Meijer made his task more complicated.
Despite the turmoil within the Democratic Party, they have not lost a Senate race since 1994 and have exceeded expectations in recent Michigan elections.
