John,

I wanted to make sure you saw this big update in my U.S. Senate race: after six months without any serious Republican opposition, former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers entered the race.

While this wasn't unexpected, Mike Rogers is the first serious Republican to get into this race. Other Republicans, including former Congressman Peter Meijer and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, are also apparently eyeing this seat, which could set up a very messy primary on the other side. We can expect to see the Republican candidates duke it out to earn their place as Donald Trump’s pick for this seat.

But as we always do here on Team Slotkin, we've done our homework, and we’re prepared to tell Michiganders about Mike Rogers and any other Republican who may enter the race.

But as the only official serious contender for the Republican nomination, it’s important Michiganders understand exactly who Mike Rogers is: He was on the Trump national security transition team, and was in talks to be Trump’s Director of FBI, but then got fired. Then he became a critic of Trump.

Regardless of his record on Trump, he's a true conservative. He supports an extreme nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or common miscarriage; he voted to cut Social Security and Medicare; and, with an A rating from the NRA, he voted to *expand* access to guns. He represented a version of my current congressional district, 4 years before I flipped it – but with a different set of values.

Unfortunately, his entry into the race will make this race competitive – and expensive. In 2020, Michigan’s U.S. Senate race cost nearly $200 million, all-in. We expect that this race will cost just as much (if not more). Michigan is already a battleground state for the Presidency, and Rogers as a Senate candidate means that we’ll have two close races to win in Michigan next year.

So given this important inflection point in the campaign, I’d love for you to consider splitting a contribution of $5 between my campaign for U.S. Senate and Maggie Hassan's. Every donation in these first 24 hours following this announcement will help us send a clear message about the strength of our campaign.

Many, many thanks for your support.

Elissa