Fact check finds Rogers energy tax claim based on 2018 proposal

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers claims his opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, supports a new energy tax that would raise utility bills by $2,000 annually and add 20 cents to the price of gasoline. Rogers made these assertions at a rally with President Donald Trump and in recent campaign advertisements.

The claims rely on a state-level carbon tax El-Sayed proposed during his 2018 gubernatorial run and his past support for the Green New Deal, rather than a current proposal for the 2026 Senate race. The $2,000 cost estimate derives from a Mackinac Center for Public Policy analysis of a clean energy law El-Sayed did not write, while the gasoline price increase figure comes from a 2013 industry study.

El-Sayed’s campaign stated he is not calling for a carbon tax in his current bid, and researchers at MIT have found that utility-scale wind and solar projects generally lower consumer energy prices. The Rogers campaign maintains that El-Sayed is deceptively supporting utility rate increases and costly electric vehicle mandates.

Read the full story at Bridge Michigan.