Mike Rogers courts Michigan Democrats as Republicans try to hold the Senate

DETROIT (AP) – Mike Rogers stood outside Cody High School on Detroit's west side on a recent drizzly morning and decried Michigan's decline in reading achievement.

Key points

• Rogers lost his first bid for Senate two years ago by barely 19, 000 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast.
• The contest has rapidly become a focal point in the fight for Senate control, and Rogers is working to appeal to segments of Michigan's Democratic electorate.
• "This is the civil rights issue of our lifetime, " remarked the Republican nominee for U.S.
• It had the look and sound of a Democratic campaign policy event, set in one of the nation's Democratic-voting strongholds.
• "He is threading a needle, " remarked Bobby Schostak, Rogers' campaign finance chairman.

"This is the civil rights issue of our lifetime, " remarked the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in the open-seat race in November.

For context, the contest has rapidly become a focal point in the fight for Senate control, and Rogers is working to appeal to segments of Michigan's Democratic electorate. It's a key to what the former congressman sees as his path to defeating progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed this fall.

Rogers lost his first bid for Senate two years ago by barely 19, 000 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast. This time, he is betting he can win over some Democrats and independents, particularly Black and Jewish voters who may be turned off by El-Sayed's positions. It are to the left of his party's establishment, notably on U.S.-Israel relations. Meanwhile, Rogers must rally Donald Trump loyalists to turn out to vote, even though the president isn't on the ballot.

For now, mike Rogers courts Michigan Democrats as Republicans try to hold the Senate remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.