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Former Congressman Mike Rogers is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan.
From calling transgender people an "abomination" to claiming the Equality Act is "demonic" and "wicked," his faith leaders coalition is as extreme as they come.
When Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers unveiled the senior leadership of his campaign’s faith leaders coalition in November, the announcement was pushed out as a statement of values — “faith, family, and freedom,” in the campaign’s words. A closer look at the people Rogers elevated into those roles, however, reveals a leadership team bound together not only by religious conservatism but by a long record of opposition to LGBTQ+ rights and, in several cases, efforts to undermine confidence in U.S. elections.
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Rogers announced the coalition November 13, according to a campaign press release, naming seven senior leaders responsible for grassroots outreach and mobilization among faith communities across Michigan. Those leaders include Alexandria Taylor, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, Linda Lee Tarver, Pastor Tim Cross, Pastor Brian Ford, state Rep. Luke Meerman, and state Sen. John Damoose.
Related: Mike Rogers is the anti-LGBTQ+ extremist running for U.S. Senate in Michigan
Public records, court filings, voting histories, and prior reporting by Michigan news outlets show that multiple members of the coalition have opposed marriage equality, resisted expanding civil rights protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and supported or defended conversion therapy — a practice widely rejected by major medical organizations.
Taylor, a Detroit-area attorney and conservative activist, has repeatedly framed LGBTQ+ identity as incompatible with her religious principles. In an August 12, 2024, debate during her campaign for the Michigan Supreme Court, Taylor said she would bring a “biblical worldview” to the bench — a worldview she said includes a “steadfast belief” that transgender people are an “abomination” under God, according to The ’Gander. “God determines your sex. You don’t determine that,” Taylor said at the event.
During the same debate, Taylor described her campaign as a “battle of good and evil,” explaining that she had hired a spiritual leader known for delivering “prophetic forecasts” as her chief of staff. She also applauded remarks from her church’s pastor, who was running for a local library board seat, calling for the removal of LGBTQ-related materials from Michigan public libraries. “Some of my proudest endorsements are from spiritual leaders because most of us understand that this is a battle of good and evil,” Taylor told the audience, adding, “we’re fighting for the soul of this nation,” according to The ’Gander.
Related: Michigan adds sexual orientation and gender identity to hate crime law despite 'far-right fiction'
Taylor has also opposed efforts to ban the discredited and dangerous practice of so-called conversion therapy. In a July 30, 2023, Facebook post, she criticized a proposed statewide ban, writing that it was “really aimed at the church,” according to archived posts cited in campaign research materials.
Another faith coalition leader, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of Detroit, has rejected the legitimacy of LGBTQ+ civil rights claims altogether. In social media videos posted on Instagram in September 2024 and June 2025, Sewell argued that “there is no such thing as gay rights” and accused LGBTQ+ advocates of using civil rights laws to “impose” sexuality on American culture. Sewell, who served as a high-profile surrogate for President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, has described LGBTQ+ equality efforts as a threat to religious freedom.
Linda Lee Tarver, a former member of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, opposed efforts in September 2017 to reinterpret Michigan’s civil rights law to include protections for LGBTQ+ people, according to Detroit Free Press reporting. In Facebook posts from 2016 and 2021, Tarver opposed marriage equality and described the federal Equality Act’s protections for LGBTQ+ people as a “demonic” and “wicked” agenda.
Other coalition members have taken positions that extend beyond rhetoric into practice. In a November 17, 2021, interview with Michigan Fox affiliate WXMI, Pastor Tim Cross said he practiced “conversion therapy” at his church, describing homosexuality as “a violation of God’s design.” That same year, Cross opposed a Michigan executive directive barring the use of public funds to subject minors to the damaging practice.
Pastor Brian Ford, another member of Rogers’s faith coalition, leads Living Word Church in Ludington, Michigan, where official church materials explicitly reject homosexuality and same-sex marriage. In its publicly posted statement of faith, Living Word Church describes homosexuality as “unbiblical” and a “sexual perversion,” and states that marriage is “between a man and a woman only,” adding that “no other form of union or marriage is acceptable in the eyes of God,” according to the church’s website. The statement further frames heterosexual marriage as divinely instituted and rejects any alternative recognition of same-sex relationships.
Ford has been pastor of Living Word Church since 2005, according to a biographical profile published by the church, which describes him as a longtime minister known for taking “strong stances” on doctrinal issues.
Republican lawmakers within the coalition have also taken clear positions through their legislative records. In March 2023, state Rep. Luke Meerman opposed Michigan Senate Bill 4, which expanded the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, according to MLive. During floor debate, Meerman said his opposition stemmed from the bill’s failure to include broader religious exemptions, arguing that similar protections should be afforded to religious institutions.
Three months later, in June 2023, Meerman voted against legislation banning licensed mental health professionals from performing conversion therapy on minors. At the time, Meerman said he opposed child abuse but argued the legislation went too far by regulating speech between doctors and patients, The Detroit News reported.
State Sen. John Damoose has taken similar positions. In March 2023, Damoose voted against Senate Bill 4. In June 2023, he also voted against legislation banning licensed health professionals from conducting “conversion therapy” on minors. Medical experts have linked the practice to increased suicide risk among LGBTQ+ youth. Damoose said he objected to the bill’s breadth, arguing it could interfere with individualized patient care, according to Michigan Public.
Related: Michigan bans 'gay and trans panic' defense as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs historic bill (exclusive)
At the same time that Rogers’s campaign has elevated a faith coalition with hard-line stances on LGBTQ+ issues, broader public opinion in the United States continues to shift toward greater acceptance. A 2025 Gallup Values and Beliefs poll found that 68 percent of Americans support marriage equality and 64 percent of Americans consider gay or lesbian relations morally acceptable. Gallup’s annual measurement of identity shows that 9.3 percent of U.S. adults now identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual, nearly double the share recorded a decade ago. However, the same polling also highlights a widening partisan divide, with acceptance markedly higher among Democrats than Republicans.
Several faith coalition leaders have also been linked to efforts disputing the legitimacy of U.S. elections. In March of this year, Sewell testified before the Michigan House Election Integrity Committee, alleging widespread fraud in Detroit during the 2024 election without evidence, Michigan Advance reported. The Detroit News reported that Taylor was sanctioned by a Michigan circuit court in June 2023 after filing a lawsuit challenging Detroit’s election procedures; the judge ruled the case was “devoid of arguable legal merit” and “rife with speculation.” Tarver participated in multiple legal efforts seeking to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
Rogers’s own political history has repeatedly drawn scrutiny from LGBTQ+ advocates. The Advocate previously reported on the former congressman, whose 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives included consistent opposition to legislation aimed at expanding rights and protections for LGBTQ+ people, including votes against workplace protections and hate-crime expansions, while supporting efforts to restrict transgender rights.
“Unemployment is up, prices are increasing, and health care premiums are set to skyrocket because of the failed agenda Mike Rogers supports—and instead of focusing on how to make life better for Michiganders, he’s trying to find ways to divide them,” Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Joey Hannum told The Advocate. “The fact that Rogers won’t say where he stands on these issues—including banning gay marriage—speaks volumes about the out-of-touch campaign he’s running.”
The Rogers campaign did not respond to The Advocate’s request for comment on his positions regarding LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections, marriage equality, or conversion therapy bans, or on how the records of his faith coalition leaders reflect his approach to civil rights.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include remarks from Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Joey Hannum.
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