Over a year ago, my wife Kristi and I left a grocery store in Brightonwhile the employee explained how more and more families were being forced to remove necessary food items from the conveyor belt and put them back on the shelves because they could no longer afford them. Our hearts sank. These are working families who are doing everything right, but are struggling to get by.

Over the past 14 months, I have traveled Michigan and I’ve heard directly from moms and dads, auto workers, students and seniors who are working hard to make Michigan the greatest state in our union. It has been incredibly rewarding, but also heartbreaking.

We traveled the state sharing meals, coffee, and occasional beer with people and asking them, “What keeps you up at night?” Their stories are why I’m running.

MICHIGAN: THE BATTLEFIELD STATE THAT COULD SAVE AMERICA

Below Vice President Kamala Harris and my opponent, Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Michigan families are being crushed by high gas and grocery prices caused by their excessive spending. These skyrocketing costs have made it the most expensive vehicle to drive your grocery cart. High prices don’t stop at the checkout and pump. Today, energy is up more than 30%, auto insurance is up more than 55%, and rents are up nearly 23%. This price spike has left Michiganders living paycheck to paycheck.

Former Michigan Representative Mike Rogers speaks during the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon)

These high costs harm the future of Michigan’s economy Also. Our auto workers are concerned about their jobs being outsourced to China due to the Harris-Slotkin EV mandate, as electric vehicle production requires 40% less labor, which means less work. auto jobs in the state that put the world on wheels.

Democrats like Slotkin would rather shy away from their support for electric vehicle mandates than talk to the 2,400 auto workers who were laid off at Stellantis, or the 1,000 auto workers who were laid off at GM. I worked in an automobile factory to help put me through college. I understand how essential these jobs are to Michigan families.

“UNPRECEDENTED FIELD OPERATION”: REPUBLICANS GAIN MOMENTUM TOWARDS CAPTURING CRITICAL SENATE RACE

I have listened to automotive suppliers who fear they will have to lay off their employees, leaving them unable to make new investments in their businesses. I’ve heard of car dealers being forced to buy electric vehicles from automakers for whom they have no customers.

For many, family tragedy is another devastating reality. I have met parents who have lost children to fentanyl that freely crosses our open southern border. These families are angry and disappointed by Democrats like Harris and Slotkin, who rejected President Trump’s Secure Border Policies and instead, we opened our southern border and stood idly by while transnational criminal cartels harmed our communities.

Over the past four years, American communities have been burdened by more than 10 million illegal immigrants. Today we see higher crime rates, increased fentanyl-related deaths, and strengthened drug cartels. A deputy sheriff told me his daughter was killed after she inadvertently smoked marijuana laced with fentanyl.

We face serious challenges as a nation and state, but we know that when we work together and have strong leadership in Washington, we can get America back on track.

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On the economy, we will cut Washington’s overspending and give more power to America’s energy producers so we can become energy independent. We’ll lower prices at the pump, reduce the cost of heating your home, and lower prices across the board. I will work with President Trump to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social security benefitsallowing you to keep more of what you earned. Finally, we will give parents the help they need by expanding the child tax credit.

I will free Michigan manufacturers on day one by eliminating the Harris-Slotkin EV mandate. If Detroit automakers want to compete in the Electric Vehicle Marketthey are free to do so, but I will not force them to produce vehicles that consumers do not want to buy.

Michigan Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers speaks with the media before former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation and manufacturing during a campaign event at Alro Steel on August 29, 2024, in Potterville, Michigan. .

I will go even further to defend Michigan’s manufacturing sector by cutting taxes on American companies that make their products in America. We will fight unfair foreign competitors like China that steal our intellectual property and harm our manufacturers. If our foreign trading partners refuse to play fair, we will impose tariffs on their imports. As simple as that.

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The security of our southern border is my top priority. The first day I will work with President Trump reinstate the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy and restart construction of the border wall to keep illegal immigrants off our streets and deadly fentanyl away from our children.

As a born and raised Michigander, I know how difficult life has become over the past four years. My promise to you, now and as a senator: I will always support you and fight every day to put America back on track.