Republican US Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks to the press in the spin room after taking part in a debate with Democratic rival candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, October 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska
A political group claiming to rally Democrats behind a Republican Senate candidate drew an embarrassingly thin crowd panned by critics.
Photos from a Saturday rally held by the super PAC formerly called "Democrats for Mike Rogers" showed a mostly empty parking lot with only a handful of people scattered across the cracked pavement. The Bulwark's Joe Perticone shared the images on X, writing that a source sent them while the event was "happening now."
The pictures show a few folding chairs sitting largely unused near a colorful mural, a television camera perched on a tripod and a microphone lying on the ground. At least one of the people visible appears to be running the camera.
The progressive news network MeidasTouch mocked the turnout, quipping, "When your astroturf campaign meets actual turf."
Rogers, a former Michigan congressman who once chaired the House Intelligence Committee, is facing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the race for the state's open Senate seat. Rogers narrowly lost a 2024 Senate bid to Elissa Slotkin.
The group behind the rally, which now goes by TFM, pitches itself as a vehicle for winning Democrats over to Rogers. But Perticone reported in The Bulwark on Friday that its latest Federal Election Commission filings show its money is flowing almost entirely from wealthy Republican donors.
Among the biggest checks was $250,000 from Michigan-based transportation company Penske, which previously gave half a million dollars to the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. Michigan donor Anthony Soave chipped in $100,000 and has given to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and JD Vance's 2022 Senate run. New York real estate executive Richard Bassuk gave $15,000 and has also supported Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The PAC's spending tells a similar story. It hired legal consulting firm Lex Politica, founded by Texas congressional candidate Chris Gober, whom President Donald Trump endorsed as a "MAGA warrior." The firm's client roster includes Elon Musk and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
"They couldn't pay enough people to show up?" wondered journalist Zaid Jilani, reacting to the photos of the PAC's rally.
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