Two Registered Foreign Agents for Israel Are Working on Republican Mike Rogers' Senate Campaign, Records Reveal

Two people working on Republican Mike Rogers' Michigan Senate campaign, including a spokesperson photographed at Sunday's surprise endorsement by a Democratic rival, are registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for work connected to the Israeli government, US Justice Department records show.

Abigail 'Abby' Ronson and Jesse Stokes both work for Convergence Media, a Republican consulting firm hired by the Rogers campaign. Their registrations relate to a separate Israeli government-backed communications project involving former Donald Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.

Drop Site News reported the overlapping roles on 1 November, just two days before Michigan voters choose between Rogers and Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the 3 November midterm elections. The foreign-agent registrations do not establish that the Israeli government directed the pair's work for Rogers or that money from the Israeli communications project was used to finance his campaign.

How Israel's Contract Reaches the Rogers Campaign

The Israeli government hired advertising group Havas, whose German arm subcontracted Clock Tower X LLC, a firm owned by former Donald Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. Clock Tower X registered on 18 September 2025 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a 1938 disclosure law, with an initial contract worth $6 million (£4.5 million).

Its filing of 18 May 2026 shows it received $15 million (£11.2 million) from Havas Media Germany in the six months to 31 March. The money funds a nationwide US campaign 'to combat antisemitism' through websites, blogs, and social media videos. Drop Site put the contract's overall value at $46.5 million (£34.7 million).

The Intercept found in May that 14 of the 18 people on Parscale's Israel team were Convergence employees. Portman Road Strategies, run by Convergence head Mike Shields, received just under $5 million (£3.7 million). The outlet also reported that the operation sent AI-powered text messages and built content designed to shape chatbot answers.

What Ronson and Stokes Do for Mike Rogers

The Clock Tower X filing lists Stokes as a subcontractor from 8 October 2025. Drop Site said document metadata names him as author of the press releases that launched Rogers' Senate bid, and that Ronson registered in May.

Ronson, a former aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson, has answered reporters' questions from an official campaign email address, the outlet reported. She also helped organise a press conference for 'Democrats for Mike Rogers', a group billed as disaffected Democrats.

When Ronson posted an AI-altered image of a heavily muscled Rogers for his birthday on 2 June, spokeswoman Alyssa Brouillet told The Detroit News she was 'not a staffer'.

Federal Election Commission records show no direct payments to Ronson, though Convergence had billed the campaign more than $619,000 (£462,000) by June.

Neither Ronson nor Stokes responded to Drop Site, and a second campaign spokesperson did not say whether the campaign knew of the registrations. Footage of Ronson at Sunday's event spread on X within hours.

An Endorsement Two Days Before the Vote

Representative Haley Stevens lost the August Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed by less than a percentage point. She had been due at a unity event with him in Detroit on Sunday, but the pair clashed over an outside group's ad linking US support for Israel to grocery prices. Stevens called it antisemitic. El-Sayed said it had nothing to do with his campaign.

Representative Debbie Dingell said she withdrew Stevens' invitation. Stevens instead attended Perfecting Church with Rogers and endorsed him, saying El-Sayed had told her she was no longer welcome. Rogers praised her 'courage and bravery'.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move a 'despicable betrayal'. El-Sayed told reporters, 'At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens.'

Pro-Israel Money and a Race for Senate Control

The super PAC controlled by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent about $33 million (£24.7 million) in the primary opposing El-Sayed, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The New York Times reported on 21 October that it was sending up to $9 million (£6.7 million) to the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, a pro-Rogers super PAC. That fund is also the largest backer of 'Democrats for Mike Rogers', with more than $4 million (£3 million), Drop Site reported.

Rogers, a former FBI agent and congressman who narrowly lost to Elissa Slotkin in 2024, is seeking retiring Democrat Gary Peters' seat. El-Sayed, a critic of Israel's war in Gaza, would be the first Muslim elected to the Senate, which Republicans control 53 to 47.

A WDIV/Detroit News poll released on 27 October put El-Sayed on 51.4 per cent and Rogers on 45.1 per cent. Polls open on Tuesday.