GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga is preparing to run for Michigan's open Senate seat

MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan — Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga has been preparing a run for Michigan’s open Senate seat and plans to make a final decision this summer.

If he does enter the primary, he would defy national Republicans, who have been aiming to clear the field for former Rep. Mike Rogers’ second attempt at the office.

“I want to make sure we win. I want to make sure we’ve got the right candidate to do that,” Huizenga said Thursday. “I personally think it should have been won last election. It didn’t. And the question is: Are we going to run the same play and expect a different result?”

Huizenga has been assembling a team, including fundraisers, for a potential bid. He recently traveled to West Point to discuss his candidacy with Donald Trump during the president’s visit last weekend. Trump endorsed Rogers, a former critic, in last year’s crowded Senate primary; he has not endorsed in this race.

Republicans’ Senate campaign arm has been pressuring Huizenga to stay out of the contest, aiming to avert a potentially messy primary as they try to flip retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ seat.

National Republican Senatorial Committee political director Brendan Jaspers on Wednesday reposted a poll on X showing Rogers outperforming Huizenga against potential Democratic rivals with the message, “If Republicans want to flip Michigan’s Senate seat red in 2026, the numbers point to one candidate” — Rogers.

Democrat Elissa Slotkin defeated Rogers in Michigan’s open Senate race last year even as Trump won the state.