Mike Rogers Campaign Orders Cease and Desist on Michigan Slotkin Ad

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers’ campaign has sent cease and desist letters to more than two dozen local television stations over an ad released by his opponent that it says is false and misleading.

The letter from two legal advisors for Rogers’ campaign said that ads sponsored by the campaign of Representative Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat, make some false claims about Rogers’ residence and business involvement.

The ad accuses the former House member of leaving “Michigan for good” after his term ends. Rogers represented Michigan’s 8th^the Congressional District from 2001 to 2015, before his current run for Senate.

The legal team said the claim is “patently false” as Rogers is currently a tax-paying resident of Michigan and is registered to vote in the state.

Democrats sought accuse Rogers of complaining about a home he owned in Florida after leaving office and being registered to vote there. He has since returned to Michigan and been a voter there again.

The letter also notes that the ad accuses Rogers of “helping Chinese technology companies” and “giving them access to the US,” but the lawyers said this claim is also false, as Rogers has not worked for any Chinese technology company, like ZTE and Huawei. , both named on screen during the ad.

The lawyers said the ad quotes a Business Insider article claiming that Rogers made “millions” from this work, but the article does not say this nor does it mention ZTE or Huawei. They note that the article states that Rogers decided to become involved in cybersecurity companies after leaving office to “help combat international criminal gangs” and Russia and China.

The letter states that Rogers founded an organization called 5G Action Now in 2020 to oppose Chinese companies trying to get involved in 5G networks in the US and help remove Chinese hardware from the country’s infrastructure.

Chris Gustafson, communications director for Rogers’ campaign, said Slotkin previously “couldn’t stop praising” his record with Michiganders but has changed because he is running against him.

“But instead of defending her own record of high food prices, a dangerous open border and votes to ban gas-powered cars, she decided to spread lies and falsehoods about Mike Rogers to Michiganders,” he said. “Slotkin is simply a selfish politician who will say whatever it takes to get elected.”

Advisors urged television stations to consider their obligations to the public interest and provide reasonable access to candidates.

“You are not required to provide Elissa Slotkin with absolute and unrestricted access to your station’s airtime so that she may sponsor advertisements containing false statements about her opponent,” they said.

The Hill reached out to Slotkin’s campaign and the networks sent letters for comment.

Rogers and Slotkin formally became their party’s nominees on Tuesday following the state’s primary. The race is expected to be one of the most competitive this year and will help determine which party will gain control of the Senate in November.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story