Mike Rogers campaign sends cease and desist order over Slotkin ad in Michigan

The campaign of Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate for Senate in Michigan, has sent letters to more than two dozen local television stations asking them to stop filing campaign ballots. The letters are based on an ad run by his opponent that the campaign says is false and misleading.

The letter from two legal advisers to Rogers’ campaign says that ads sponsored by the campaign for Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat, make several false claims about Rogers’ whereabouts and business involvement.

The ad accuses the former House member of leaving Michigan for good after his term ended. Rogers represented Michigan’s 8^and Congressional district from 2001 to 2015, before his current candidacy for the Senate.

The legal team said the claim is “patently false” as Rogers is currently a taxpaying resident of Michigan and registered to vote in the state.

Democrats have tried to accuse Rogers of carpetbagging over a home he owned in Florida after leaving office and registering to vote there. He has since moved back to Michigan and has started voting there again.

The letter also states that the ad accuses Rogers of “helping Chinese technology companies” and “giving them access to the U.S.,” but the lawyers said that claim is also false, as Rogers has not worked for Chinese technology companies, such as ZTE and Huawei, both of which are mentioned onscreen in the ad.

The lawyers said the ad cites a Business Insider article claiming that Rogers made “millions” from this work, but the article doesn’t say this and doesn’t mention ZTE or Huawei. They note that the article claims that Rogers decided to get involved with cybersecurity companies after he left his post to “help push back against international criminal gangs” as well as Russia and China.

The letter states that Rogers founded an organization called 5G Action Now in 2020 to oppose Chinese companies attempting to participate in 5G networks in the U.S. and to help remove Chinese hardware from the country’s infrastructure.

Chris Gustafson, Rogers’ campaign communications director, said Slotkin previously “couldn’t stop ranting” about his record for Michigan residents, but that she has changed now that she’s running against him.

“But instead of defending her own record of high grocery prices, a dangerous open border and voting to ban gas-powered cars, she has decided to spread lies and untruths about Mike Rogers to the people of Michigan,” he said. “Slotkin is simply a self-interested politician who will say whatever it takes to get elected.”

The lawyers urged the television stations to consider their public interest obligations and provide candidates with reasonable access.

“You are not obligated to give Elissa Slotkin absolute and unfettered access to your station’s airtime so that she can sponsor advertisements containing false statements about her opponent,” the spokesperson said.

The Hill has reached out to Slotkin’s campaign and the stations have sent the letters for comment.

Rogers and Slotkin were formally named their party’s nominees Tuesday following the state’s primary. The race is expected to be one of the most hotly contested this year and will help determine which party takes control of the Senate in November.