Capitol News

After a series of Democratic victories in recent elections, Republican strategists are expressing concern about the impact of tariffs supported by former Representative Mike Rogers on his Senate campaign in Michigan. The tariffs, which have affected Michigan’s auto industry, are becoming a central issue as voters respond to rising costs.

According to a recent POLITICO report, Michigan Democrats have been criticizing Rogers for months over these tariffs. The report states: “Michigan Democrats have been hammering former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers… for months over tariffs that have rocked their famed auto industry.”

Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe, who previously served as executive director for the state’s Republican Party and has worked on presidential campaigns for Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio, acknowledged the challenges posed by these trade policies. He said: “It’s baked into the electorate that doing these tariffs will have some sort of short-term pain, but that we’ll realize some long-term gain. I don’t know if we’ll realize the benefits the administration anticipates from those tariffs by election time.”

A Republican senator speaking anonymously told POLITICO: “I think people see that something’s driving up costs and tariffs are at the front of it. The president is so enamored with tariffs that it’s clearly a Trump-Republican thing, so it has a consequence.”

The concerns come after voters in states such as Virginia and New Jersey favored Democratic candidates who focused on high prices of everyday goods and criticized tariff policies linked to former President Donald Trump. There is growing apprehension among GOP strategists in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin—where manufacturing industries are most affected—that voter frustration with trade policies could influence upcoming elections.

Strategists also noted potential complications if control over tariff policy shifts back to Congress following scrutiny from Supreme Court justices regarding presidential authority on levies.