Not many believed that Trump could have a lead over Biden in the very beginning of the presidential campaign, having in mind Trump’s legal cases and his controversial views on many important topics like abortion rights. But in mid-April, just months away from the November general election, Trump still leads the race, even though Biden approached Trump who now has a lead of around one percentage point.
The polls
Aggregated data from 655 polls conducted so far shows that Trump leads Biden by a margin of only 0.6%. Although it is still very early to draw conclusions, the current polls’ results are a warning sign for Democrats and President Joe Biden, who risk losing the presidential election. Meanwhile, both Biden and Trump continue their efforts to win the support of voters across the nation since both have already secured the delegates needed for the party nomination and are expected to face off in a rematch in November.
Battleground states
The focus, as usual, will be on the swing states. According to a recent survey by The Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump is leading President Biden in six of the seven most competitive states in the 2024 election, propelled by broad voter dissatisfaction with the national economy and deep doubts about Biden’s capabilities and job performance. The state of Michigan is also on the list of states where a Republican Senate candidate aims to flip a Democratic-held seat.
Mike Rogers aims to win the Senate seat
Mike Rogers, who previously worked as an FBI special agent and chaired the House Intelligence Committee while serving in Congress, is now a candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in Michigan. Speaking to Fox News recently, Rogers said that his campaign priorities are addressing crime, border issues, national security, and the economic downturn.
Read also: Republicans sue Michigan for voter registration rolls irregularities. Again.
Rogers is GOP Senate primary
As the leading candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in the upcoming August primary, Rogers is expected to compete against Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin. This contest will determine who will replace Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who has decided not to run for re-election. The Michigan Senate seat is very important for both parties, especially Republicans, who are looking to flip from blue to red in November, as they push to regain the Senate majority they lost in the 2020 cycle.
A Trump supporter
Mike Rogers, other Republican leaders and law enforcement officials joined former President Donald Trump at a roundtable discussion minutes after Rogers’ interview with Fox News. They later stood behind the former president and presumptive Republican presidential candidate while he was speaking against his likely opponent, president Joe Biden, attacking him over the border crisis and crime rates.
“We’ve had a murder of Ruby Garcia, a horrific murder, right here in Kent County. We’ve had criminal cartel gangs operating in Oakland and Wayne County on the southeast side of the state for months now. They’re very organized, and they’re doing a lot of damage. All of that because of a weak and porous southern border,” Rogers said according to Fox News.
Read also: Trump has decisive move in his hands against Biden in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania
Rogers’ time in politics
Mike Rogers left politics in 2016, the same year Donald Trump was elected president. He reentered the political scene in late 2022 and early 2023, considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. During this time, he visited Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, the initial states to vote in the GOP race, to test his campaign messages. One of his points was that Trump’s leadership era had ended.
“Donald Trump is the right person at the right time”
However, Rogers decided not to pursue the presidency. Instead, he moved back to Michigan from Florida last fall and began a Senate campaign, encouraged by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He supported Trump in the Republican presidential nomination race in January, and Trump endorsed him last month during a speech in Michigan.
Rogers, in his Fox News interview, emphasized that “Donald Trump is the right person at the right time to fix some huge problems for this country.”
Read also: Trump campaign faces huge problem in one key swing state: Pennsylvania
Chances of winning the Senate seat
Rogers’ chances of securing the GOP nomination increased when former Detroit Police Chief James Craig withdrew from the Senate race and endorsed him a month later.
