Polls indicate that incumbent Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, won the 8th District U.S. Congressional race comfortably against Bob Alexander, D-East Lansing
Rogers wins U.S. House seat
Print-time polls show 40 percent victory margin
By SHAWN SMITH
and EMILY BINGHAM
The State News
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Alexander
TOMMY ANDRES · The State News
Hours before learning whether he will be re-elected, Congressman Mike Rogers, right, talks with a supporter at a reception at the Radisson Hotel Lansing, 111 N. Grand Ave. in Lansing on Tuesday.
Polls indicate that incumbent Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, won the 8th District U.S. Congressional race comfortably against Bob Alexander, D-East Lansing, on Tuesday night.
Rogers retained his U.S. House of Representatives seat - encompassing Clinton, Ingham, Livingston, and parts of Oakland and Shiawassee counties - with a platform for other countries to adhere to fair-trade rules of manufacturing. The former FBI agent encouraged Gov. Jennifer Granholm to bar any legislation that would expand gambling in Michigan and introduced a bill to stop the import of Canadian trash.
"We feel pretty confident that people from all political persuasions are at least comfortable and feel that I'm accessible to them," Rogers said at the Republican Victory Night Party held at Radisson Hotel Lansing, where about 500 Republicans gathered to celebrate party victories. "We think this is going to pay off in the votes."
At the time of publication, Rogers was ahead of Alexander by about 40 percent, with 20 percent of the precincts reporting.
The victory is a sharp change from the 2000 race, when Rogers defeated Dianne Byrum for the district seat by 111 votes. In 2002, Rogers coasted to re-election, prompting local and national Republicans to deem him a rising star in the party. Rogers made numerous visits to Iraq to increase troop morale and oversee the implementation of democracy in the country.
Alexander is a former Peace Corps volunteer and long-time political activist who has worked for more than 200 political campaigns, including his most recent campaign for Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, for president. But he has never held a public office.
Alexander stepped into the race with assertions that Rogers had not addressed the needs of his district and challenged him on issues such as the economy and the war in Iraq. The East Lansing native's platform included promises to advocate the removal of U.S. troops in Iraq, to generate and maintain higher paying jobs and to strive for a national health-care plan.
Alexander said he expected to do better than most political pundits predicted.
"If I get 42 or 43 percent, several people, including myself, will look very seriously into running full-tilt two years from now," he said while attending a Democratic celebration of about 300 supporters at the UAW 652 Union Hall in Lansing.
"(Rogers) looked on me as just an organizer who couldn't raise any money and like it was no challenge," he said.
Rogers denied that he overlooked his opponent.
"It's not really about me and it's not about Bob Alexander," Rogers said. "It's about the voters."
Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Betsy DeVos said Rogers lives up to his superstar status in a strong state delegation.
"The constituents of the 8th District are again going to be well served by the congressman."
John Mangopoulos of the U.S. Taxpayers Party and Will Tyler of the Libertarian Party each garnered 1 percent of the vote at the time of publication.
