Richard Czuba: “It’s going to become a particularly nasty race, from what we’re seeing very early on. It’s going to drain a lot of resources that the Republican candidates don’t seem to have.”

LANSING — New reporting from Bridge Michigan details how Mike Rogers is taking “flak” in the “increasingly combative” and “particularly nasty” primary as Amash and Pensler “repeatedly blast” and “attack” him as a “deep state … establishment stooge.”

Pensler “has already launched an ad campaign against Rogers and used Rogers’ past… as political fodder.” Amash has “repeatedly blasted” Rogers for being “the worst establishment candidate that you could ever imagine” and slammed Rogers over his “support of surveillance programs [that] will be a ‘huge liability’ among primary voters.”

Even with Trump’s endorsement, Rogers faces heat from Republicans. The story notes that “as Trump praised Rogers in his recent rally, some fans began chanting the name of long-shot grassroots candidate Sherry O’Donnell. Others had already launched an online petition urging Trump to rescind his Rogers endorsement.”

Observers have pointed out that Rogers has “lackluster fundraising numbers.” Political commentators note that the “nasty” primary could force the general nominee “to spend campaign cash defending his record to Republicans” which will “drain a lot of resources that the Republican candidates don’t seem to have.” 

Read Bridge Michigan’s reporting on Rogers taking “flak” in the “increasingly combative” and “particularly nasty” GOP primary: 

Bridge Michigan: Trump ‘warrior’ Mike Rogers takes flak in Michigan GOP primary for U.S. Senate

• Rogers’ critics contend the former president has again picked the wrong Republican for the fight. 
• Even as Trump praised Rogers in his recent rally, some fans began chanting the name of long-shot grassroots candidate Sherry O’Donnell. Others had already launched an online petition urging Trump to rescind his Rogers endorsement.
• GOP rival Sandy Pensler is running television ads… and fellow Senate candidate Justin Amash has repeatedly blasted Rogers as a “deep state … establishment stooge.”
• Still, an increasingly combative Republican primary could complicate Rogers’ coronation and force him to spend campaign cash defending his record to Republicans before appealing to general election voters, observers told Bridge. 
• “It’s going to become a particularly nasty race, from what we’re seeing very early on,” said Richard Czuba, a longtime Michigan pollster and founder of the Glengariff Group Inc. “It’s going to drain a lot of resources that the Republican candidates don’t seem to have.” 
• Pensler, a self-funded business executive, has already launched an ad campaign against Rogers and used Rogers’ past… as political fodder. 
• Amash, his one-time Congressional colleague, recently called Rogers “the worst establishment candidate that you could ever imagine.” 
• Rogers’ opponents have capitalized on his long record in Congress and the comments he made on CNN and other networks, raising concerns about his work in the intelligence community… 
• Amash, a former West Michigan representative who quit the Republican Party in favor of libertarianism after voting to impeach Trump, has attacked Rogers’ record on individual liberties and recently suggested his past support of surveillance programs will be a “huge liability” among primary voters. 
• Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Sam Chan suggested the infighting will leave Republicans with “a badly-damaged candidate who is out of touch with working families.” 
• Rogers’ Trump endorsement hasn’t yet translated to a huge influx in donations — he reported raising a little over $1 million and had $1.38 million on hand.
• Rogers is far from the only Michigan Republican currently suffering from a lack of donor participation as the state party picks up the pieces from recent instability, said Roe, the GOP strategist.