Rogers appeals to Democrats turned off by el Sayed: ‘You have a home with us’

Mike Rogers didn't wait a week to make his move. The day after Abdul el Sayed knocked off Haley Stevens in that Michigan primary, Rogers was already out there telling Democrats they've got a home with him. That's not a subtle play. It's a bet that a lot of Stevens voters looked at the results Tuesday night and felt something between confusion and buyer's remorse.

And honestly, it's a smart bet. Stevens was the establishment pick, backed by the kind of Democratic infrastructure that usually wins these primaries. She lost to a Bernie Sanders-endorsed former public health official in a race that wasn't supposed to be close. Whatever you think of el Sayed's politics, that result tells you the Michigan Democratic base is pulling somewhere the party's donor class and D.C. strategists didn't want it to go.

Rogers is reading that gap correctly. There's a real chunk of Michigan Democrats, the union-hall, kitchen-table type, who don't recognize themselves in a candidate running on Sanders-style politics. Those voters aren't natural Republicans, but they're not thrilled either, and an open hand costs Rogers nothing to extend.

Whether it actually moves votes is another question. Appeals like this tend to sound better in a press release than they perform on Election Day. But the instinct is right. When the other side nominates someone their own moderates are visibly uneasy about, you don't sit back and hope it works out. You go get the voters they left behind.