Michigan: Eighth District

Rep. Mike Rogers (R)

Mike Rogers (R) Elected 2000, 4th term up
Born:	06-02-1963, Livingston Cnty.
Home:	Brighton
Education:	Adrian Col., B.A. 1985
Religion:	Methodist
Marital Status:	married (Diane)
Elected  Office:	MI Senate, 1995-2000, Maj. Floor Ldr., 1999-2000.
Military Career:	Army, 1985-88.
Professional Career:	Co-founder, E.B.I. Builders, 1985; FBI Spec. Agent, 1988-94.
DC Office	133 CHOB, 20515 202-225-4872 Fax: 202-225-5820 Website: mikerogers.house.gov
State Offices	Lansing:517-702-8000;
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Lansing is Michigan’s state capital, chosen in 1847 because of its geographic position halfway between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and away from the border with Canada and the threat of invasion by British forces, but in ignorance of the fact that it has fewer days with sunshine than any place else in the state. But it is a tidy and pleasant city with more than its share of amenities. It has a beautifully restored Capitol and a fine state history museum and is neighbor to Michigan State University in East Lansing, started in 1855 as America’s first land-grant college. Its Oldsmobile plant stimulated growth in the first half of the 20th century, and state government did the same in the second half. GM closed its Olds line in 2004, but two new highly efficient GM assembly plants have been constructed in the Lansing area and the Oldsmobile name remains alive at two local museums and at the baseball stadium where the Lansing Lugnuts play. Historically, the Lansing area voted Republican, up through the 1960s. But as public employee unions have grown in membership and strength, Lansing like some other state capitals has become heavily Democratic, as is university-influenced East Lansing.

Just east of Lansing’s Ingham County is quite another part of Michigan, Livingston County (most of the counties in these parts were named for members of President Andrew Jackson’s Cabinet; Livingston was secretary of state and Ingham secretary of the Treasury). Thirty years ago, Livingston County was mostly rural, known mainly for its many lakes. But in the years since then, thousands of Detroit area residents have driven out I-96 to Brighton and Howell and other Livingston townships, and subdivisions, schools and shopping malls have sprouted up. Most of these people are conservatives, happy to leave the problems of Detroit behind them, angry at high taxes and annoyed by government regulations and hewing to traditional religious faiths. They have made Livingston Michigan’s fastest-growing county—its population rose 59% from 1990 to 2006—and one of its most Republican. In 1970 Livingston had 58,000 people to Ingham’s 261,000; in 2006 Livingston had 185,000 to Ingham’s 277,000. So as Ingham has grown more Democratic, Livingston has been casting bigger Republican margins to counterbalance Ingham’s Democratic margins. In the close presidential election of 1968, 19,000 people voted in Livingston and gave Richard Nixon a 3,000-vote margin, while 90,000 voted in Ingham and gave Nixon a 9,000-vote margin (this was before East Lansing went Democratic). In the close presidential election of 2004, 93,000 people voted in Livingston and gave George W. Bush a 25,000-vote margin—up from 16,000 in 2000. By comparison, 133,000 voted in Ingham and gave John Kerry a 22,000 vote-margin, up from 21,000 in 2000.

The 8th Congressional District of Michigan includes all of Ingham and Livingston Counties, Shiawassee County south of Owosso, plus Clinton County directly north of Lansing and northern Oakland County.

The congressman from the 8th District is Mike Rogers, a Republican first elected in 2000 (He is one of two Republican Mike Rogers in the House; the other hails from Alabama). He grew up in Brighton, in Livingston County, and graduated from Adrian College in southeastern Michigan. He was commissioned by the ROTC as commander of an Army rapid deployment unit. He graduated from the FBI Academy, and focused on public corruption cases as an FBI special agent in Chicago for six years. In 1994 he returned to Michigan, started a family home construction business and was elected to the state Senate, where in 1999 he became majority floor leader. In 2000, when Democrat Debbie Stabenow gave up the 8th District seat to run successfully for the Senate, Rogers and Democrat Dianne Byrum, a fellow state senator, both ran in the 8th. Each candidate raised about $2 million; this turned out to be the closest race in the country. It took six weeks to count the final tally, and Rogers won by 111 votes.

Rogers describes his political philosophy as consistent with President Bush’s “compassionate conservatism,” with a bit more conservative record on cultural issues than on the economy. With his military, law enforcement and legislative backgrounds, Rogers was well-positioned to advise colleagues on policies to respond to the September 11 attacks. He provided expertise on the high-tech tools used to track terrorists and on the use of wiretaps, sought federal aid to pay for National Guard troops at Michigan’s borders with Canada, and urged that airport screeners have federal supervision. On other issues, he has been an activist member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. He sought more authority for Michigan to limit its flow of trash from other states and Canada. Citing the fact that only a few hundred gas stations nationwide have the requisite equipment, he won bipartisan House approval in 2006 of a bill to create a grant program for independent businesses to purchase equipment for ethanol gas pumps. The House also passed his committee bill to eliminate state food-safety warnings that are stronger than comparable federal warnings. His aggressive approach has made Rogers a rising star among House Republicans. With his significant fundraising skills, Republican leaders have tapped him for prime fundraising assignments in contested races. He positioned himself to run for House Republican whip in 2006, but Roy Blunt did not relinquish the post.

At home, Rogers has won reelection without problems. In 2006, he won 55%-43% against Royal Oak deputy city attorney Jim Marcinkowski, a former CIA agent who voiced disappointment when DCCC chairman Rahm Emanuel failed to deliver on promises of support. Rogers lost Lansing’s Ingham County by 10,000 votes, but he took Republican Livingston County by 22,000 and his opponent’s Oakland County base by 14,500. Political insiders in Michigan have speculated that he might make a strong statewide candidate, though the recent climate has not been hospitable for Republican candidates.

Committees

• Energy & Commerce (21st of 26 R)
  Health; Energy & Air Quality; Environment & Hazardous Materials.
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (8th of 9 R)
  Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis & Counterintelligence (RMM).

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 2
• Area size: 2,288 square miles
• Urban Population: 70.0%
• Rural Population: 30.0%
• Population 2000: 662,563
• Population 2005 (est): 703,972
• Median Income: $52,510
• Poverty Status: 8.4%
• Military Veterans: 11.0%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 87.7% White; 4.8% Black; 1.9% Asian; 0.4% Native Am.; 0.0% Hawaiian; 1.6% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 3.5% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 17.3% German%; 9.6% English%; 9.2% Irish%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 23.0%; White collar 62.6%; Gray collar 14.4%;