Two Mike Rogers Campaign Aides Are Registered Foreign Agents for Israel

Two people working on Republican Mike Rogers’ Michigan Senate campaign are registered foreign agents on a contract for Israel, filings and Drop Site News show. Voters choose the state’s next senator on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Abigail Ronson and Jesse Stokes appear in forms filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Drop Site News, in a report by Jacqueline Sweet with Ryan Grim published on Nov. 1, said both work on the campaign through Convergence Media, a vendor the campaign pays.

What the Filings Show

Clock Tower X LLC, owned by Brad Parscale, Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, registered with the Justice Department on Sept. 18, 2025 (registration 7649). The FARA registry lists the State of Israel as the foreign principal, via Havas Media Germany GmbH.

Clash Report previously covered Parscale’s Israeli-funded effort to shape AI chatbot answers.

The individual short forms name Havas Media Network as the principal, acting on behalf of Israel.

Ronson filed on May 18, 2026 as a part-time subcontractor of Clock Tower X. Stokes filed on Oct. 24, 2025 in the same capacity. The firm’s supplemental statement gives his start date as Oct. 8, 2025.

Both forms describe “strategic communications, planning, and media services in support of Havas’ engagement by the State of Israel” for a U.S. campaign against anti-Semitism. Both say the work includes political activity as defined under FARA.

FARA requires anyone acting for a foreign principal in the U.S. to register and disclose. Registration is a legal disclosure, not an allegation of wrongdoing.

Roles Inside the Campaign

Ronson is a digital communications specialist at Convergence and previously worked for House Speaker Mike Johnson. Stokes is the firm’s chief of staff.

Convergence is led by Republican strategist Mike Shields. A Michael Shields also filed a FARA short form on Oct. 24, 2025.

According to Drop Site, Ronson has spoken to the media as a Rogers campaign spokesperson, including to Drop Site and the New York Times, as recently as this week. It said she used a campaign email address.

Document metadata suggests Stokes wrote many of the campaign’s press releases, Drop Site said.

In June, the campaign said Ronson was not a campaign staffer, after she posted an AI-altered image of Rogers with bulging muscles, the Detroit News reported on June 3. Drop Site said there are no direct FEC payments from the campaign to her.

The campaign has paid Convergence more than $716,000 since January 2025, according to FEC data cited by Snopes in June. Drop Site said the total now runs into the millions.

The Money

Clock Tower X’s supplemental statement, received on May 18, covers Oct. 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. It shows $15 million received from Havas Media Germany and $13.06 million disbursed.

Of that, about $4.95 million went to Portman Road Strategies, a firm run by Shields. About $566,000 went to Salem Media Representatives.

A June 2026 work order sets a fee of $4.5 million a month for digital advertising from April 1 to Oct. 31. Together, the figures make up the $46.5 million total cited by Drop Site.

The Intercept and Responsible Statecraft reported on May 28 that 14 of Clock Tower X’s 18 team members were Convergence staffers.

Political Backdrop

On Nov. 1, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, after attending a church service in Detroit with Rogers. She said El-Sayed’s campaign had told her she was not welcome.

Drop Site said Ronson appeared behind Stevens at the press conference.

The Michigan Democratic Party chair said Stevens is not a member of the party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move “a despicable betrayal,” and her chief of staff and other staff resigned. Rogers said he was “honored to have earned that vote.”

El-Sayed beat Stevens in the Aug. 4 primary by about one percentage point. The winner on Tuesday succeeds retiring Sen. Gary Peters in a race that could decide control of the Senate.

Outside Spending

The New York Times reported on Oct. 21 that AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, planned to give up to $9 million to the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund. It cited two people with knowledge of the plans.

The fund backs only Rogers. The money was sent after the Oct. 14 pre-election disclosure deadline, and AIPAC declined to comment.

Drop Site said the fund has given more than $4 million to Together for Michigan, the super PAC behind “Democrats for Mike Rogers.” It said that super PAC has spent about $5 million attacking El-Sayed.

Campaign Response

Neither Ronson nor Stokes responded to Drop Site’s request for comment. A second Rogers spokesperson did not say whether the campaign knew of the arrangement.

Clash Report found no campaign statement as of early Nov. 2.