Trump Clears Senate Field For GOP In Key Battleground State As Dems Fight Messy Primary

President Donald Trump endorsed former Republican Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers’ 2026 Senate run Thursday evening, effectively clearing the field for the two-time Senate candidate in one of the most closely watched races of the midterms.

Rogers, who was facing a potential primary challenge as recently as Tuesday, is on track to cruise to the general election with unified Republican support after receiving Trump’s support. Republican Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga, who was mulling his own run, passed on the race Wednesday, allowing Rogers to obtain the president’s endorsement — and likely glide to the Republican nomination.

“From the U.S. Army to Congress, Mike has served our Nation with distinction, and will bring that same Fighting Spirit to the U.S. Senate,” Trump wrote in a post on the social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.

Senate Republicans view the open race in Michigan as one of their best flip opportunities to grow their 53-seat majority during the midterms. Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters chose to not seek reelection in January following Trump winning the state by roughly 80,000 votes last November.

Rogers came within less than 20,000 votes of being elected to the Senate last November after narrowly losing to Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Trump also