Standing on the front lawn of a home in a Detroit neighborhood, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers brought together a group of Democrats who on Thursday said they would vote for the former congressman instead of Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee.
The coalition, known as “Democrats for Rogers,” currently consists of a small group that included outgoing state Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), Chelsea Rebeck, who was described as a mother from West Bloomfield, and Rabbi Asher Lopatin, the leader of the Kehillat Etz Chayim congregation in Huntington Woods. Lopatin is also the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor’s director of community relations.
Rogers, speaking at a press conference outside of the Detroit home of Whitsett’s mother-in-law, who was also said to be supporting the Republican nominee, thanked his new supporters and called them “courageous” for standing with him in the November election, even if they had to hold their noses by doing so.
“It is about finding common ground and building a better nation. The Democrat voters who feel their nominee doesn’t represent them in their values, all hope is not lost,” Rogers said. “I’m not asking you to be a Republican. I’m asking you for the opportunity to earn your trust. Michigan deserves a senator who will sit down, whether you voted for me or not, and will listen to you. Will treat you with respect. Will represent everybody. There are real differences in this race.”
