Amash Battling Trump-Endorsed Deep-State Doozie For Michigan Senate Nomination

Former Rep. Justin Amash on Monday announced that his Senate campaign had submitted the requisite signatures to appear on Michigan’s Aug. 6 primary ballot. The GOP field for a shot at a Democrat-vacated seat includes an archetypal Deep Stater in former Rep. Mike Rogers, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee and scored Trump’s endorsement in March despite having repeatedly bashed the former president. 

In his final House term, Amash left the GOP, first becoming an independent and then a “capital L” Libertarian, giving the party its first-ever member of Congress, and positioning himself for a potential 2020 presidential run as a Libertarian; after forming an exploratory committee, he ultimately opted not to run.  

Libertarian Republicans Thomas Massie, Justin Amash and Rand Paul amid an intense 2015 battle against extension of the Patriot Act (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Newscom)

In rotating back to the Republican Party after leaving it to carry the Libertarian banner, Amash is in some good company: After holding a House seat as a Republican, Ron Paul was the 1988 Libertarian presidential nominee, but returned to the GOP as a congressman and two-time Republican presidential candidate. 

Of course, for many Republicans, Amash committed a far bigger sin: voting to impeach Donald Trump in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. In a lengthy tweet thread at the time, Amash said Special Counselor Robert Mueller’s report “identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.”

Last August, however, Amash railed against the federal criminal indictment of Trump for alleged election interference, tweeting:

“I may not like Trump, but I love our Constitution, so I feel compelled to speak out. The latest indictment, which I encourage everyone to read, attempts to criminalize Trump’s routine misstatements of fact and law in connection with the 2020 election. But this is precisely the sort of wrong that must be addressed politically under our Constitution, not criminally.”

Rogers has a big, early edge. A mid-March Michigan Information & Research Service poll found that knowledge of Trump’s endorsement rockets Rogers’ GOP support by 40 points, to 67%. Before being told about Trump’s backing, a whopping 57% of respondents were undecided, with Rogers taking 27%, former Rep. Peter Meijer at 7%, Amash at 6%, and business executive Sandy Pensler at 1%. The survey came only two weeks after Amash entered the race.

In the long run, Michigan MAGA Republicans may be doing Trump a favor by ignoring his endorsement of former Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Rogers (Chris Usher/AP via NPR)

While nobody would expect Trump to endorse the only Republican who voted to impeach him, Rogers is himself a serial basher of Donald Trump — which, along with his Deep State credentials, makes Trump’s powerful endorsement all the more aggravating to the countless people who still have a better grasp on the lay of the DC swamp than Trump, who’s learned little from naive championing of quintessential neocons like John Bolton and Nikki Haley.

One of those exasperated observers is Sen. Rand Paul, who lashed out at Trump’s endorsement of “the worst Deep State candidate this cycle”:

Donald Trump just endorsed the worst Deep State candidate this cycle. @MikeRogersForMI is a never Trumper, and a card carrying member of the spy state that seeks to destroy Trump.

You have to ask yourself who gives Trump this awful advice?

Who’s next, John Bolton? pic.twitter.com/TZXRYLtFv6

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 11, 2024

A choice between Amash and Rogers is a choice between two people who’ve hammered Trump. The Michigan MAGA crowd can pick the one who’s a relentless opponent of mass surveillance, or the one who advocated expanded surveillance power under FISA and trafficked slanderous propaganda against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

In a 2014, Rogers smeared Snowden with baseless suggestions that he was aided by the Russians, telling Meet the Press, “Let me just say this. I believe there’s a reason he ended up in the hands, the loving arms, of an FSB agent in Moscow. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.” Of course, the facts were as clear then as they are now: Snowden didn’t flee to Russia — Obama trapped him there.   

The Republican Liberty Caucus proudly endorses @justinamash for U.S. Senate .

In his time in Congress Justin Amash fought for fidelity to the constitution and to protect individual liberty.

Michigan, we urge you to elect Justin Amash to represent you in the U.S. Senate! pic.twitter.com/0fxGVZDZ6B

— RLC (@RLibertyCaucus) April 17, 2024

In a bright spot for Amash, his campaign last week announced that its per-week Q1 receipts since entering the race far outpaced its rivals’. Amash brought in $109,000 per week, compared to $79,000 for Rogers, $18,000 for Meijar and (not a typo) $93 for Pensler. Amash had $740,000 in cash on hand on March 31, compared to $1.4 million for Rogers, who spent nearly $600,000 in the first three months of 2024. 

For conservatives, Meijar isn’t much of an alternative. Backed by interventionist neocons Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, he succeeded Amash in Michigan’s 3rd congressional district, and proceeded to vote for Trump’s second impeachment — for “incitement of insurrection” — and for creating the Jan. 6 inquiry committee. He was primaried out of office after voting with Biden 39% of the time. His record also includes votes for Ukraine aid, and for a gun control package that included funding for “red flag” gun seizures. 

Born to Palestinian and Syrian Christian parents, Amash was the first Palestinian-American to serve in Congress. In October, the Israeli Defense Forces killed several of his relatives when it bombed Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza. In another point of differentiation, we’re guessing Rogers will be keener on shoveling more money to the IDF than Amash. 

Our Israeli brothers and sisters need our support more than ever. I’m proud to stand with Israel against Iran’s terrorism. 🇺🇸🇮🇱

— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) April 13, 2024

The Michigan seat is open for a newcomer from either side of the aisle thanks to incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow’s January announcement that she wouldn’t seek re-election. In a March poll, Rep. Elissa Slotkin  led CSI:NY actor Hill Harper by 46 points.   

Donald Trump has proved once again that he is a blithering idiot—stupid beyond measure. Former Congressman Mike Rogers is a card-carrying Deep State neocon warmonger who spent years in the Washington Swamp fueling the Never Trump campaign. Now the Donald has endorsed him for…

— David Stockman (@DA_Stockman) March 12, 2024

Oh look he’s back to pulling in the swamp people to work alongside him. What a joke. Michigan, there is only one choice that will protect your liberty and that’s @justinamash

Mike Rogers is the swampiest of them all. https://t.co/sLrsTHoEBK

— Libertarian Mama 🔔 (@LibertarianMama) March 11, 2024