Mike Rogers (Maryland politician)

Michael J. Rogers (born February 20, 1964) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Maryland's District 32 in Anne Arundel County. He unsuccessfully ran in the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election in Maryland's 3rd congressional district, losing to state senator Sarah Elfreth.

Early life and career
Rogers was born in Detroit on February 20, 1964. He attended Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, South Carolina, and graduated from New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1982.

Rogers served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps from 1986 to 2015, serving in positions ranging from platoon leader to brigade commander and retiring at the rank of colonel. He had deployments 32 countries including combat deployments in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan; and his service awards include the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, and Defense Superior Service Medal. Since retiring from the Army, he has served as a member of the Military Officers Association of America board of directors from 2012 to 2018 and has coached football at the Severn Athletic Club for five seasons.

Maryland House of Delegates
In January 2018, Rogers announced his candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 32. The district was targeted by the Maryland Republican Party and the Republican State Leadership Committee, who had hoped to defeat the Maryland Democratic Party's supermajority in the legislature. He won the Democratic primary, placing third in a field of seven candidates and receiving 18.4 percent of the vote, and defeated his Republican challengers in the general election with 19.9 percent of the vote.

Rogers was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019, and has served in the Economic Matters Committee during his entire tenure. In December 2020, Rogers became the first Black person to serve as vice chair of the Anne Arundel County Delegation, and became the first Black man elected as the delegation's chair in November 2021.

In 2020, Rogers unsuccessfully ran as an uncommitted delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, receiving 0.8 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election.

2024 congressional campaign
On November 20, 2023, Rogers announced that he would run for Congress in Maryland's 3rd congressional district, seeking to succeed retiring U.S. Representative John Sarbanes. On the campaign trail, Rogers heavily leaned into his military experience, believing that appealing to the districts' high number of veterans would provide him with a path to victory. Rogers was defeated in the Democratic primary election by state senator Sarah Elfreth on May 14, 2024, placing seventh with 2.6 percent of the vote.

Policing
In June 2020, Rogers participated in a protest against police brutality in Severn, Maryland, where he encouraged protesters to vote in that year's general elections.

Social issues
In March 2019, Rogers voted against legislation that would allow doctors to prescribe palliative care to terminally ill patients who want to end their lives.

Veterans
Rogers introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session that clarified the eligibility for veterans seeking to reside at homes supervised by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill passed and became law on May 8, 2020.