Michael J. Rogers (born February 20, 1964) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

and a Democratic member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, representing Maryland's

District 32 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

Early life and career

Rogers was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

on February 20, 1964. He attended Hillcrest High School in

Dalzell, South Carolina Dalzell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,175 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Orange Grove and St. Phi ...

, and graduated from

New Hanover High School New Hanover High School is a high school located in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. New Hanover High is the oldest existing high school in Wilmington.Steelman, Ben"What is the History of New Hanover High School?"StarNews. MyReporter. 3 Mar. 2 ...

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

, in 1982. Rogers served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps from 1986 to 2015, serving in positions ranging from

platoon leader {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth militaries and the United States Marine Corps, US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This pers ...

brigade commander A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

and retiring at the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. He had combat deployments in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and his service awards include the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

, and

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

. Since retiring from the Army, he has served as a member of the

Military Officers Association of America The Military Officers Association of America is a professional association of United States military officers. It is a nonprofit organization that advocates for a strong national defense, but is politically nonpartisan. The association support ...

board of directors from 2012 to 2018 and has coached football at the Severn Athletic Club for five seasons.

In the legislature

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 The Maryland Republican Party is the Maryland state branch of the Republican Party (GOP), headquartered in Annapolis. Current elected officials Members of Congress U.S. Senate *None Both of Maryland's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Demo ...

and the

Republican State Leadership Committee The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) is a political organization designed to assist Republicans in capturing and holding control of state legislatures across the United States. The organization notably raised over $140 million fro ...

, who had hoped to defeat the

Maryland Democratic Party The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, Annapolis. The current state party chair is Yvette Lewis. It is currently the ...

'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 The Anne Arundel County Delegation refers to the members of the Maryland House of Delegates who reside in or represent legislative districts that are made of all or parts of Anne Arundel County, Maryland in the United States of America. Three dele ...

, 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 The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

, receiving 0.8 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election. On November 20, 2023, Rogers announced that he would run for Congress in

Maryland's 3rd congressional district Maryland's 3rd congressional district comprises portions of Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel counties, as well as a significant part of the independent city of Baltimore. The seat is currently represented by John Sarbanes, a Demo ...

, seeking to succeed retiring U.S. Representative

John Sarbanes John Peter Spyros Sarbanes ( ; born May 22, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes the state capital of Annapolis, central p ...

Political positions

Policing

In June 2020, Rogers participated in a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

against

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

Severn, Maryland Severn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Severn is 57,118, a 22.6% increase from 44,231 according to the 2010 census. The zip code is 21144. Geograp ...

, where he encouraged protesters to vote in that year's

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Social issues

In March 2019, Rogers voted against legislation that would allow doctors to prescribe

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

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 United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

. The bill passed and became law on May 8, 2020.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Mike African-American state legislators in Maryland Living people Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Military personnel from Maryland United States Army colonels Politicians from Detroit People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland 21st-century American politicians 1964 births 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people