Former Michigan GOP co-chair Bernadette Smith has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission signaling a likely Senate run, setting up a potential longshot Republican challenge to Trump-backed former Rep. Mike Rogers for the party's nomination in the battleground state's open Senate seat.
If Smith, who resigned from her co-chair position with the state party last week, moves forward and formally declares her candidacy, she would join a GOP primary field that already includes Rogers, who has been endorsed not only by President Donald Trump, but also by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP.
The winner of next year's general election will succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
The open seat in Michigan, along with an open Democrat-held seat in swing state New Hampshire, are two top targets the NRSC is aiming to flip in the 2026 midterms, as the party aims to not only defend but expand its current 53-47 majority in the Senate.
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Battleground Georgia, where Republicans view Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as vulnerable as he seeks re-election next year, is another top GOP target.
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Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats' nominee, in last November's election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired.
After the president backed him in July, Rogers told Fox News Digital that "having the Trump endorsement, that just kind of seals the deal. And it means we just get to work to win the election against Democrats in November of '26.
Trump's backing of Rogers apparently isn't preventing Smith from launching a campaign.
But Smith, who was elected to state party leadership earlier this year, is seen by some in the political world as a longshot candidate who may have difficulties making the ballot in Michigan.
"There's a better chance of pigs flying than Bernadette Smith qualifying for the ballot or somehow winning in Michigan," veteran Michigan-based Republican consultant Dennis Lennox, who is not working for Rogers' Senate bid, told Fox News Digital.
Working against Smith may be her past criminal record. She pleaded no contest to a charge of felony welfare fraud, and a decade ago was found guilty of causing an auto accident in which a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured.
Fox News reached out to Smith but had not received a response at the time this report was posted.
