Former CIA agent Jim Marcinkowski launched his bid this week for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Congressional District to run against GOP incumbent Mike Rogers, R-Brighton.
Marcinkowski is currently deputy city attorney in Royal Oak. The 8th District includes Clinton, Ingham, Livingston counties and part of Shiawassee and Oakland counties.
Marcinkowski said his concerns are for working families, student loans and creating jobs.
"We have to start putting Americans first," Marcinkowski said. "Republicans are exporting our standard of living."
Since Rogers was elected to office in 2000, Michigan has lost 308,000 jobs, Marcinkowski said. Workers in the United States cannot compete with $2 per hour jobs in Mexico, China and India and still support themselves, he said.
Rogers' spokesperson Sylvia Warner said Rogers has been active in building the economic agenda that has helped turn around most of the nation. He wants to see Michigan see that turnaround, she said.
Marcinkowski graduated from MSU with a degree in political science and graduated from University of Detroit's law school, he said. He joined the CIA in 1985, serving in Central America as a case officer managing spies.
Marcinkowski faces an uphill battle as Rogers has won the past two elections, in 2002 and 2004, by big margins. Rogers barely won in 2000, when he defeated Democrat Dianne Byrum by 111 votes. The district has since been realigned.
"Mike Rogers does more for Texas and oil companies than anyone else in Congress," he said. "He doesn't represent the people of mid-Michigan."
Rogers is a former FBI agent who has served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and serves on the House Intelligence Committee. He has traveled to the Middle East on behalf of the Speaker of the House, Warner said.
Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Jason Moon said Rogers is part of the culture of corruption in the Republican-led congress. He has been under the influence of Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff, both of which are under investigation, he said.
Michigan Republican Party spokesperson Nate Bailey said Rogers has helped lead the fight to defend the country, reducing the tax burden on families and helping businesses.
"With the campaign months away, the congressman is really focused on his job as a member of Congress," Warner said. "The number of key issues that he is working toward include strengthening the economy and restoring trust in government."
Marcinkowski said he is critical of Rogers' behavior during his tenure.
Rogers did not object when CIA agent Valerie Plame was exposed in 2005, he said.
"As an FBI officer, (Rogers) knows exposure of undercover officers working on nuclear proliferation should not be exposed," he said.
Warner declined to comment on the Plame situation.
To counter Republican free-trade policies, Marcinkowski said he plans to acknowledge the economic struggles of the U.S. middle class.
"We are becoming a 'debternation,'" he said. "We borrow the equivalent of the entire U.S. defense budget from China every year."
