Sandy Pensler drops out of Michigan Senate race and endorses Mike Rogers

Michigan Senate candidate former Rep. Mike Rogers (right) raises the arms of Sandy Pensler (left), who withdrew from the Senate primary and is now endorsing Rogers, at a campaign rally Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Businessman Sandy Pensler announced Saturday that he would drop out of the Republican primary for Michigan Senate and support former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).

“My campaign has always been about making America better. The best way to do that is to implement President Trump’s policies,” Pensler said during Trump’s rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, chanting, “Let’s go, Trump! Let’s go, Trump!”

“To do that, we need control of the Senate. Continued division in the primaries hurts those chances, and that’s not OK. So tonight I’m doing the right thing and withdrawing my candidacy for the Senate,” he continued.

“It’s the right thing to do. President Trump supported Mike Rogers. Tonight, I do too,” Pensler added.

Pensler was one of a handful of remaining candidates running in Michigan’s Republican Senate primary for the seat held by retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan).

The Senate Republican campaign arm and Trump have rallied around Rogers, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, forcing several Republican candidates to drop out of the race – including former Detroit Police Chief James Craig and former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.).

The Republican primary for the Michigan Senate will take place on August 6.

“Thank you, Sandy,” Rogers said. “I am honored to have you join us and all Republicans in winning the state of Michigan. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your leadership. You will be an important voice for our party in Michigan in the future.”

On the Democratic side, Representative Elissa Slotkin (Democrat, Michigan) is considered the favorite. The nonpartisan election expert Cook Political Report classifies Stabenow’s seat as “undecided.”