GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Thursday, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers visited the Upper Peninsula. His “We Have a State to Save” tour made stops in Marquette, Dickinson, and Delta Counties.
In Gladstone, Rogers was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd at Saunders Point Brewing. The Republican was introduced by two U.P. legislators, State Senator Ed McBroom and State Representative Dave Prestin.
“To push forward our values, our belief in freedom and in liberty and freedom of speech, Mike is the guy that you need,” said McBroom. “He is fighting for our state, he is fighting for the Upper Peninsula, and I can’t wait to see Mike take the oath of office as our next U.S. senator.”
“People need to show up,” Prestin said. “We have the numbers. We can carry this vote.”
Rogers speech focused on topics like job creation and affordability.
“You look at the last eight years, we’ve lost 27,00 manufacturing jobs,” he told attendees. “Our utilities are now highest in the Midwest. Our auto insurance rates are the highest in the country.”
He also highlighted Michigan’s low reading scores, calling for efforts to improve literacy rates.
“They took phonics out of schools,” he said. “It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Kristi [Rogers] and I have been working with this group that’s been around in Detroit for 20 years… that goes into schools, does reading assessments. Through phonics-based coursework, over the course of six to fourteen weeks, you can get kids reading back at grade level. Pretty powerful.”
Rogers also spent time discussing his opponent, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
“He could not condemn a Hezbollah-sponsored terrorist attack in Michigan that nearly killed 130 schoolchildren,” said Rogers.
During El-Sayed visit to the Upper Peninsula last week, he advocated for Medicare for all, which Rogers says is the wrong answer to the issue of healthcare access.
“Here’s the problem with this so-called Medicare for all,” Rogers told WZMQ 19 News. “Private health insurance goes away. This is really important. If you’re a union member up here in the U.P., guess what? That private health insurance that you have through collective bargaining goes away. The government gets it. Now you have everybody pouring into a system. It jeopardizes healthcare for seniors. Why that’s important, they’ve been paying for it since they were 18 years old… That all kind of gets messed up. All these people pour in, including people who haven’t paid a dime into the system. It doesn’t work. The math doesn’t work. They think that it will cost the average family $20,000 a year in new taxes, and you’ve got to get in the back of the line.”
Rogers’ plan involves drawing more doctors to federally qualified health centers to care for low-income communities. He says a major factor in lowering healthcare costs is transparency.
“You should know what it costs before you walk into the hospital,” he said. “That’s not true. A woman went through a whole battery of tests. The doctor said, ‘You’re good to go,’ and on the way out some physician assistant said, ‘Hey, you’ll want this test.’ Well, if you don’t know any better, you probably said yes. Ends up, they get billed $1,700 and, guess what, didn’t really need the test. We’ve got to stop that.”
Rogers wrapped up his visit by urging voters to think about the future when casting their ballots.
“This isn’t about left or right anymore—not after he made the ballot,” said Rogers. “This is good versus evil. This is about who we are as a country. This is about who we want our kids to inherit and how much prosperity we want them to have. We don’t want them growing up thinking America is the problem; we want them growing up thinking America is the solution.”
Click here for WZMQ 19’s coverage of El-Sayed’s recent Delta County campaign stop.
