Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, will head back to Washington, D.C., after winning the hearts of Republicans and Democrats in the 8th District.
Rogers, who took more district votes than President Bush, skipped past his nearest House competitor, Democrat Bob Alexander, by about 80,000 votes on Tuesday. The 8th District includes Clinton, Ingham, Livingston and parts of Oakland and Shiawasee counties.
"Certainly, I was humbled by the overwhelming amount of support that I got," Rogers said.
The incumbent Congressman took 61 percent of the vote, while Alexander garnered 37 percent district-wide. John Mangopoulos of the U.S. Taxpayers and Libertarian Will Tyler White each received 1 percent of the district vote.
Rogers, a former FBI agent, took all counties in the district except Ingham County, which traditionally votes Democratically. But the county's nearly 50-50 voter split between Rogers and Alexander showed Rogers he is making progress in gaining the trust of Democrats, he said.
"I don't look at it as though it was a split. I look at it as a gain," he said. "If you look at the vote in Ingham County, they didn't vote for their party.
"They voted for the person."
In 2000, Rogers was elected while only winning 40 percent of the vote in Ingham County.
"Mike's made a lot of headway in Ingham County," said Larry Ward, county Republican Party chairman.
"I believe Mike Rogers is going to serve the Democratic base just as good as the Republican base."
Rogers added that he would continue to work to restore Michigan's manufacturing industry, revive the patient-doctor relationship in the state's health-care system and help mend political fences after a stingingly divisive presidential election season.
Alexander, a longtime political activist from East Lansing, said election night was disappointing for Democrats across the district.
But he vowed to continue to fight against the war in Iraq and bring jobs back to Michigan, even if not in office.
"We want to keep people involved in Ingham, and in the 8th District," he said.
Ingham County was Alexander's stronghold, he said, adding that student turnout helped dramatically to boost his numbers.
"We involved a lot of young people at MSU and at (Lansing Community College), and those not attending college," Alexander said. "I knew we had great numbers of the vote."
On Tuesday, Alexander said he would run for the House seat again in 2006 if he received at least 42 percent of the district vote.
But after winning only 37 percent, he said he will hold his Congressional aspirations until Gov. Jennifer Granholm or other state party leaders call on him to run again.
