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Rented Democrats
The same investigation, restaged one beat at a time. Drive it with the arrow keys, space, or autoplay. Nothing is cut from the piece — long runs are split across frames. Read the full investigation or open the Fake Opposition hub.
Rented Democrats.
A group called 'Democrats for Mike Rogers' spent millions to help a Republican win a Senate seat. Its two biggest checks came from Republican super PACs — and it paid a former Democratic official $30,000 two weeks before she praised Rogers on Fox News, without mentioning the money.
'Democrats for Mike Rogers' (rebranded 'Together for Michigan') is marketed as a Democratic revolt against Abdul El-Sayed, but its FEC filings show it's predominantly Republican-financed and it paid an on-air 'grassroots' voice $30,000 before an undisclosed Fox News hit — manufactured opposition wearing the other party's colors.
We grade the money and the non-disclosure (documented), not anyone's sincerity. FENCE: some figures were/are Democrats and crossing parties is legal — the point is the money is overwhelmingly Republican and the records are Republican. The group's attack lines are attributed, not adopted; we don't endorse El-Sayed.
'Democrats for Mike Rogers' is predominantly Republican-funded — its two biggest checks came from GOP super PACs.
Per The Bulwark's review of FEC filings, the two largest donations came from GLCF, Inc. (Great Lakes Conservatives Fund — a super PAC for electing conservatives), $50,000, and American Unity PAC (mission: promoting Republican congressional candidates), $25,000. GLCF has separately run a seven-figure pro-Rogers ad buy. The biggest money behind a group branded 'Democrats' came from organizations whose explicit purpose is electing Republicans. Truthout and Drop Site News reported the same from the same records.
It paid a former Democratic official $30,000 — then she touted Rogers on Fox News without disclosing it.
The PAC paid $30,000 to Melanie Rutherford, a former Pontiac, Michigan city council member, for 'Grassroots Consulting.' About two weeks after receiving the payments, Rutherford appeared on Fox News praising Rogers and attacking El-Sayed — a clip amplified by numerous MAGA accounts. Per The Bulwark, it was never disclosed during the segment that she'd been paid. Viewers saw a 'grassroots Democrat' voicing independent frustration; the filings show a paid consultant for a pro-Rogers PAC.
It has spent nearly $5 million supporting Rogers and attacking El-Sayed.
Per its annual expenditure totals on file with the FEC, the group has spent nearly $5 million in either support of Rogers or opposition to El-Sayed. Not a token messaging shop — real money moving a real Senate race, financed predominantly by Republican sources while presenting as a Democratic phenomenon. A $5 million operation is not a spontaneous grassroots defection; it's a funded campaign, and the filings answer who funded it.
The front figures aren't the organic Democratic grassroots they appear to be.
Stated precisely. The treasurer is Karen Whitsett, a conservative-coded former Democratic state legislator who campaigned alongside Rogers at a 'Democrats for Mike Rogers' event. Among disclosed individual donors, several have Republican-giving records: Tennessee donor William Orgel gave thousands to GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty and Nikki Haley's 2024 campaign; Michael Sandler, who's given to some Democrats, also gave to a vulnerable Republican House member. Not a claim they were never Democrats — some were. The claim: a coalition sold as rank-and-file Democrats is staffed and funded in large part by people with documented Republican commitments.
Its attack lines are the Republican attack lines — and it dropped 'Democrats' from its name once exposed.
The group's social account attacked El-Sayed in terms mirroring the GOP's own lines — that he's 'endorsed by the enemies of America,' 'would be Senator for U.S.-designated terrorist groups,' and 'hates Black Michiganders.' We attribute these as the group's posts, not our characterizations, and don't adopt them; the tell is the near-verbatim match with Republican attacks. And after the Republican financing was reported, the PAC rebranded from 'Democrats for Mike Rogers' to the party-neutral 'Together for Michigan' — retiring the label that was its whole pitch.
The line we hold.
- FACT: the PAC's two biggest donors are GOP super PACs (GLCF $50k, American Unity PAC $25k); it spent ~$5M for Rogers / against El-Sayed; it rebranded Democrats for Mike Rogers -> Together for Michigan after the funding was reported.
- FACT (the sharpest): it paid ex-Pontiac council member Melanie Rutherford $30,000 for 'Grassroots Consulting'; ~2 weeks later she praised Rogers / attacked El-Sayed on Fox News, with the payment never disclosed on air.
- FENCE: some figures were/are genuinely Democrats, and crossing parties is legal — we grade the money and the non-disclosure, not sincerity. The point is the financing and the records are overwhelmingly Republican.
- ATTRIBUTED, not adopted: the group's inflammatory El-Sayed smears are its posts; we don't endorse El-Sayed or repeat the attacks as fact. Not claiming illegality — the scandal is the deception.
Why it matters.
An election only works if voters can tell who is talking to them. When one party funds a convincing replica of the other — same label, borrowed faces, the opponent's attack lines — it corrupts the one thing a campaign is supposed to provide: a real choice between identifiable sides. A Michigan voter moved by 'Democrats for Mike Rogers' was reacting to a signal Republican money paid to send; a Fox viewer who watched a former Democratic official praise Rogers was never told the praise came with a $30,000 invoice. Both were deprived not of an opinion but of the context to weigh it. That's what manufactured opposition takes from an electorate: not the argument, but the ability to know who's making it, and why. The tell is almost always on the disclosure forms — which is why the people running these operations would rather you not read them.
Help us fill these lines.
- OpenThe donations and expenditures from the period when the group operated as 'Democrats for Mike Rogers,' which its later FEC filing as Together for Michigan may not fully cover.
- OpenWhether Fox News, Rutherford, or the PAC had any obligation to disclose the payment, and whether any regulator reviews it.
- OpenHow much of the group's nearly $5 million came from Republican sources once the full, pre-rebrand record is assembled.