Mike Rogers’ team asks AIPAC not to advertise for his campaign against el Sayed: Report

AIPAC’s influence in Michigan’s Senate race is expanding beyond just the Democratic primary, as allies of Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers reportedly ask the pro-Israel committee to cease advertising for Rogers’s campaign.According to a new report from Axios, Rogers met with AIPAC’s Board Chair Michael Tuchin as the former congressman’s allies have been asking AIPAC to roll back its advertising in support of his Senate campaign. One day later, the outlet said, AIPAC pulled a planned advertisement hammering Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed from the Michigan airwaves.The Washington Examiner has reached out to both Rogers’s campaign and AIPAC for comment. The new report comes after AIPAC’s giving and candidate policy differences toward Israel became focal points of Michigan’s Democratic primary between el Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). Despite a massive cash advantage, including over $30 million in funding from AIPAC and its affiliated groups, Stevens fell to el Sayed by a one-percentage-point margin.El Sayed had hit Stevens hard on her acceptance of AIPAC money, as he campaigns on getting big money out of politics and criticizes Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a “genocide.” In the face of el Sayed’s hits and her dips in polls, Stevens stuck to her pro-Israel values, repeatedly calling herself a “Zionist Democrat.”Rogers is a vehement supporter of Israel himself, and has begun courting the vote of Jewish Democrats who do not want to support el Sayed. This coming week, three prominent Jewish Democrats are hosting a fundraiser for Rogers as he aims to tap into the support base.AIPAC spending and candidates’ support for Israel have become a major theme of the 2026 elections, with many bellwether tests across both Democratic and Republican primaries this year. Results have been somewhat mixed throughout the primary year, with fierce AIPAC critics like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) losing their elections, but with many pro-Gaza Democratic candidates triumphing over their AIPAC-backed competitors.MIKE ROGERS GAINS SUPPORT FROM JEWISH DEMOCRATS IN BATTLE WITH ISRAEL CRITIC ABDUL EL SAYEDAn instance of the latter situation happened this week, when Democratic state Sen. Aisha Wahab won her California House election over AIPAC-backed Democratic mayor Melissa Hernandez.Rogers and el Sayed are expected to face off in a tight primary race, with initial polls fluctuating between the two candidates in single-digit margins. Cook Political Report tags the race as a toss-up.