Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter Endorses Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate

Endorsement adds to growing coalition of environmental protection organizations backing Abdul

MICHIGAN – Today, the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club announced its endorsement of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate. The Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club is a leader in the fight to protect and restore our Great Lakes State’s health and heritage, with more than 150,000 members and supporters across the state.

“Dr. El-Sayed represents the passion and hopes of Michigan citizens of all ages, but particularly of younger voters,” said James D’Amour, Sierra Club Michigan Political Chair. “At a time when federal environmental protections are under attack, Michigan needs leaders who will stand up to powerful corporate interests, get money out of our politics, and build a clean energy economy that lowers costs and creates good-paying jobs for Michigan residents. Abdul has made clear where he stands here. He is the right man, at the right time. The Sierra Club is proud to stand with him.”

“As a Michigander, it is an honor and a privilege to receive an endorsement from the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, an organization that has been at the vanguard in the fight to safeguard Michigan’s uniquely beautiful—and uniquely critical—ecosystem,” said Abdul. “As a doctor and public health official, I’ve seen firsthand how corporations put their thumb on the scale to strip away environmental protections. As a senator for the Great Lakes State, my focus will always be on protecting Michigan from bad actors that exploit our state for their greed—and I look forward to working with the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club to be that bulwark.”


Time and again, for his whole career, Mike Rogers has been an adversary of Michigan’s natural beauty, backing deregulation at nearly every turn:

  • Rogers held a $350k fundraiser with Dick Cheney where Cheney proposed drilling for oil in the Great Lakes. [Congressional Record, 6/27/01]
  • In 2000, Rogers supported oil drilling in the Great Lakes, arguing that “we have to do something to lessen the dependence” on foreign oil. [Livingston County Daily Press, 10/27/00]
  • Rogers voted against the final 2001 Energy-Water Bill, which included a two-year moratorium on oil and gas production beneath the Great Lakes. [E&E News, 8/19/24]
  • In 1997, Rogers introduced a resolution supporting direction drilling in the Great Lakes. [Michigan State Senate, Senate Journal 83, 11/4/97; Senate Resolution 106, introduced 11/4/97]
  • During votes on the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Rogers voted against an amendment that would have permanently barred drilling in the Great Lakes. [E&E News, 8/19/24]
  • Rogers said he was in favor of keeping Line 5—a gas and oil pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac with a recent history of leaks—open despite efforts to shut it down. [E&E News, 8/19/24]

Rogers voted for a bill that would have gutted protections for endangered species and was opposed by environmental groups like the Sierra Club.

  • 2006: Rogers voted for the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act, which would have gutted protections for endangered species. [HR 3824, Vote 506, 9/29/05; Inside Bay Area, 11/13/06]
    • The Sierra Club and other environmental groups opposed TERSA, arguing it “would cut large holes in [the] safety net” provided by the Endangered Species Act. [Environmental Protection, Editorial, 11/1/05]

A full list of Abdul’s endorsements can be found here.

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