Rochester Congressman Leads New U.S. Senate Poll

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican who represents Rochester and Rochester Hills, is a front-runner for the GOP nomination to the state's next U.S. Senate race, according to a poll released Tuesday.

On Saturday, Rogers said he was considering a run for the Senate seat that Democrat Carl Levin recently announced that he would vacate in 2014.

"I am giving the Senate race serious consideration," Rogers told the Detroit Free Press.

Rogers has served since 2001 as the representative for Michigan's 8th District, which includes the Rochester area following last year's Congressional redistricting. He also serves as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and is a former FBI agent.

In the automated survey of 1,170 likely Republican voters conducted Monday, 31.11 percent of respondents said they would support Rogers for the GOP nomination to the senate seat, according to a news release from Murray Communications-Portable Insights-Combat Data, which conducted the poll.

Scott Romney, the brother of presidential candidate Mitt Romney, received 29.74 percent of the votes; former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land received 20.85 percent of the votes. The margin of error in the poll was 2.86 percent.

“The poll is good news for U.S Rep. Mike Rogers,” said Christopher Mark of Portable Insights. “His support among likely Republican primary voters extends beyond his congressional district and puts him at a solid starting point in this race.”

In another poll released this week, Romney leads Rogers by a small margin.

According to the Free Press, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, the Bloomfield Township Democrat who represented Rochester and Rochester Hills before the redistricting, has also indicted he may seek the Senate seat.