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topicnews · October 16, 2024

Insights from the Slotkin-Rogers debates in the US Senate

Insights from the Slotkin-Rogers debates in the US Senate

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In two debates in less than a week, the major party candidates for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat showed that they are serious contenders and capable campaigners, deftly beating each other’s records and throwing sharp jabs without clearly showing incivility expire.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Holly and Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake landed sharp reactions and parries in a debate last Tuesday on WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids and again Monday at WXYZ-TV’s Southfield studio Attacks They entered the final three weeks of their campaign to determine who will succeed Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who is not running for a fifth six-year term.

More: Campaign claims fly as Slotkin and Rogers take the debate stage in the race for Michigan’s U.S. Senate

That both brought a degree of seriousness to the campaign debates is not surprising given their record: Slotkin is a three-term member of the House of Representatives, known as a pragmatic Democrat who can win in Republican-leaning districts, and who served three times as a CIA analyst in Iraq before becoming acting deputy defense minister. Rogers, a former Army officer and FBI agent, served as a conservative member of the House of Representatives in Congress for 14 years and rose to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee before leaving in 2015.

Here are some takeaways from their two debates that could help decide which party controls the Senate next year:

Rogers hammered Slotkin with electric vehicles

After taking up the line repeated by Republicans and former President Donald Trump that President Joe Biden and Democrats had adopted an “EV mandate” that would require people to purchase electric vehicles, Rogers did his best in two debates to hang it around Slotkin’s neck. “It’s ruining our automotive industry,” he said in Monday’s debate. “They are promoting Chinese technology in America.” He also claimed that Slotkin voted for the so-called mandate several times.

The truth is that there is no mandate, but the Biden administration has finalized emissions standards that, unless the rules change or different technology is introduced, automakers would have to ensure that two-thirds of all new cars are sold by 2032 are emission-free (e.g. electric vehicles) or have to expect high fines. While Slotkin voted against legislation that would have blocked implementation of those standards — it was not clear what would have replaced them — she has also said she would support rewriting those rules if they hurt U.S. automakers (which they helped develop) and that she is against telling anyone what car to buy. But she also defended the rules as a way for U.S. technology to catch up with China’s lead in making and selling electric vehicles worldwide. “I want to have this manufacturing here. I don’t care what you drive, I want to build them,” she said Monday.

Slotkin never let up on Rogers’ record on abortion

Rogers has repeatedly said throughout the campaign that he will not support federal legislation that would strip away abortion protections that were enshrined in the Michigan Constitution two years ago in an overwhelmingly supported voter referendum passed in the wake of Roe v. Wade passed by the US Supreme Court. “I will do nothing when I return to the U.S. Senate to reverse the vote of the people,” he said Monday. But during Rogers’ time in Congress, he was an ardent opponent of abortion and supported legislation that would have imposed extreme restrictions.

Slotkin argued in two debates that Rogers has already shown Michigan voters where he stands on the issue of abortion rights and that they shouldn’t listen to him now just because Democrats have successfully used the issue against Republicans. “He showed us who he is. Don’t trust him on this matter,” she said Monday, virtually repeating the line of attack she used against him earlier Tuesday. Rogers similarly took pains to give the impression that he was sympathetic to the “most heartbreaking decision a woman will ever have to make,” although this clearly contradicts his previous statements about the procedure.

Both recognize that inflation is a key factor for voters

The rise in inflation in recent months is slightly lower than it was about a year ago, but it was clear that neither candidate was taking the issue for granted. As might be expected, Rogers constantly blasted Slotkin about the high prices of food, gasoline, and housing, clearly placing the blame on spending approved by Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration. “Are you feeling better than you were four years ago?” Rogers asked Monday. “My opponent agreed 100% with Biden-Harris (Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic presidential nominee) on all the things that raised your prices.”

Inflation has risen almost everywhere in the world following supply shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and government stimulus measures. So it’s misleading to place blame solely on Democrats (and it’s also worth noting that job growth and wages have increased). also significant). But Slotkin argued that she took the need to lower prices seriously and called for bringing more supply chains back to the US and reducing costs (and using the latter to push back against Rogers, who had previous anti-government votes, negotiate lower drug prices).

One thing that wasn’t really brought up…

Of course, there were many other issues that the two argued about in television ads and flyers in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election and will continue to do so. For example, whether Slotkin is to blame for the increase in illegal immigration along the southern border. (She says she has proposed numerous bills to address the problem; he says she has done nothing to solve the problem.) And whether Rogers can be trusted after he previously denounced Trump’s false claims that he won the election won in 2020 (which he didn’t), except because of corruption, and recently spoke about being wary of Democratic “shenanigans” in this year’s election. (He says he’s the same old Mike Rogers and suggests Slotkin is trying to distract from the Democrats’ failures.)

One topic that didn’t really come up in either debate, however, was Rogers’ residence. Earlier this month, a Free Press column raised questions about Rogers’ residence because a certificate of occupancy had not been issued for the home he and his wife rebuilt in White Lake Township, even though he used that address to register as a voter . On several occasions in both debates – and at least three times on Monday – Slotkin indirectly mentioned the fact that Rogers had lived in Florida before running for the open Senate seat, but at no point did she or any of the moderators bring it up to the White- Lake property. An attorney for Rogers’ campaign told the Detroit News last week that Rogers had been staying with his in-laws – who also live in White Lake – while the certificate of occupancy was being processed.

Contact Todd Spangler: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

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