Michigan’s Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers denounced the trade war with Canada in a new ad in which he distances himself from President Trump.
Mr. Rogers doesn’t mention the president by name in the ad, but signals his opposition to the administration’s adversarial treatment of Canada.
“Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now,” Mr. Rogers says in the ad after praising Labatt, a Canadian beer. “As Michigan’s senator, I’ll bring both parties together to lower your prices.”
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Mr. Rogers speaks more harshly about Mr. Trump’s trade policies in the ad than he has in the past.
In September, he told reporters, “If it’s a tariff that’s bad for Michigan, I’m going to be against it, and if it’s a tariff that’s good for Michigan, I’m going to be for it.”
The former congressman argued that tariffs have protected Michigan’s cherry farms from international competition.
In August, the administration imposed 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods, prompting Canada to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
Other Republican Senate candidates such as Sen. Susan Collins in Maine and John E. Sununu in New Hampshire have declared their opposition to the president’s tariffs, which they say will harm their state’s economies.
Mr. Rogers also uses the ad to accuse his Democratic opponent of seeking to impose the biggest tax increase “in history.”
The ad comes after Mr. Rogers called for an end to the Iran war and for state and federal lawmakers to suspend fuel taxes.
Michigan helped elect Mr. Trump as president in 2016 and 2024, but has not elected a Republican to the Senate in more than 30 years.
Mr. Rogers narrowly lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in their 2024 Senate showdown.
The Cook Political Report rates Mr. Rogers’ latest race counting down to Nov. 3 as a toss-up.
Mr. Roger’s opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, narrowly defeated a more moderate opponent to secure the nomination in the Democratic primary and has faced criticism for collaborating with hard-left streamer Hasan Piker.
Mr. El-Sayed pledges to support Medicare for all, “oppose mandatory Voter ID laws,” abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and cut off military aid to Israel.
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