{"id":2887,"date":"2024-10-14T17:35:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T17:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/?p=2887"},"modified":"2024-10-14T17:35:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T17:35:50","slug":"michigan-senate-foes-brace-for-a-really-close-race-amid-harris-trump-brawl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/michigan-senate-foes-brace-for-a-really-close-race-amid-harris-trump-brawl\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Senate foes brace for a ‘really close’ race amid Harris-Trump brawl"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DETROIT \u2014 The Michigan Senate race is one of several that could help determine control of the chamber and decide the presidential contest this fall. And unlike in some other swing states, both candidates in the open Senate race are sticking close to the tops of their tickets.<\/p>\n

GOP former Rep. Mike Rogers praised former President Donald Trump in an interview as being \u201cready to go in on the very first day to help get America and Michigan specifically back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, meanwhile, hailed Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 positive impact on her race as a \u201csea change\u201d from President Joe Biden\u2019s campaign, which was struggling before he dramatically dropped out of the race in July after a brutal debate performance against Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like night and day, right?\u201d Slotkin said of Harris\u2019 ascent to the top of the ticket. \u201cWe saw completely \u2014 sort of an immediate change in voter turnout and interest from Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n

But \u201cnight and day\u201d doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s any room for comfort in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.<\/p>\n

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\"GOP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mike Rogers and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really close,\u201d Slotkin acknowledged Thursday in the living space of her large camper bus after a campaign stop in Ann Arbor. The election is three weeks away, and while she has small advantages over Rogers in most public polls, there are plenty of very close ones, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about those independent voters, those swing voters, those voters who make their decisions very late,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re competing for a very small group of people who decide Michigan elections, and they are still making up their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Rogers has tied himself to Trump, he said he also believes his campaign will \u201cattract quite a few Harris voters … and we\u2019ll take them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think autoworkers \u2014 we\u2019re doing very well with Black males across the state, because we go and talk to them about opportunities and the future,\u201d he said of a trend the Republican Party is working hard to grow this election.<\/p>\n

Rogers, a former law enforcement officer and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, once criticized Trump \u2014 even weighing a challenge for the White House. But he has since traded endorsements with Trump and worked to court his MAGA supporters.<\/p>\n

Now, Rogers is careful not to air any criticism. Asked about Trump\u2019s insulting comments about Detroit the day before, Rogers claimed he \u201cdidn\u2019t hear what he [Trump] said.\u201d (Trump called Detroit, Michigan\u2019s most populous city, a \u201cdeveloping area\u201d and said the whole country would end up \u201clike Detroit\u201d if Harris is elected.)<\/p>\n

Pressed about Trump\u2019s comments about Jewish voters (he suggested Jews who vote for Democrats \u201chate their religion\u201d), Rogers similarly sidestepped: \u201cYeah, listen, I\u2019m not running Donald Trump\u2019s campaign. I\u2019m running Mike Rogers\u2019 campaign for the United States Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slotkin, a moderate Democrat who has been in Congress since 2018, describes herself as a \u201cmember of team normal.\u201d She said she would work with \u201canyone on team normal\u201d but accused Rogers of having \u201cadopted and absorbed the more recent politics of extremism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two national security candidates collide<\/h2>\n

Both Rogers and Slotkin have deep roots in national security work. Slotkin was a CIA analyst and worked in the Defense Department. Rogers was an FBI agent specializing in organized crime.<\/p>\n

They have diverging ideas about outcompeting China, preventing escalating war in the Middle East and ending Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon are particularly relevant in Michigan, home to the largest population of Arab and Muslim Americans of any swing state. A significant number of Jewish Americans also live in Michigan.<\/p>\n

Slotkin, the only Jewish member of Michigan\u2019s congressional delegation, has tried to toe the line between Muslim and Jewish communities east of Detroit. She has kept her outreach to the groups largely private and refrained from publicly criticizing the Biden administration\u2019s handling of the conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Slotkin wouldn\u2019t weigh in on the community divides that are so prevalent in the state, only noting that the conflict has been \u201cso raw\u201d for Michiganders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as pleasing every single person on this. There\u2019s just not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said her strategy with the communities has been effective because the most important thing is to \u201ckeep the lines of communication open.\u201d She urged the Biden-Harris administration to constantly have \u201cconversations with leaders, even when you don\u2019t always agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can also express real empathy for dead children. I mean, that to me does not make me any less supportive of a strong state of Israel,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Slotkin\u2019s balanced approach has prompted criticism from Rogers.<\/p>\n

Slotkin \u201ccan\u2019t go to each community and tell them something and then do something different,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the Jewish community, I think, is upset with my opponent. That\u2019s why the Muslim community is upset with my opponent. That\u2019s the old 1970’s style \u2014 be for everyone for every reason. Doesn\u2019t work when you have the problems that we have in the state of Michigan,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Asked how he is reaching out to the communities, Rogers said that while the regional conflict is \u201can important issue\u201d for the groups, the border and the economy matter, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Arab, Muslim or you\u2019re Jewish or you\u2019re Hindu or you\u2019re Christian. Doesn\u2019t matter. Those groceries cost the same across that spectrum,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

Slotkin has criticized Rogers for having briefly moved to Florida before he launched his Senate campaign. He has in turn slammed her over her record on electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

Slotkin has recently gone on offense on the issue, assuring voters in campaign ads and during the first debate that she herself drives a gas-powered car and isn\u2019t in favor of electric vehicle mandates, even though she voted for the Biden administration\u2019s rule that would shift the U.S. auto economy to two-thirds electric by 2032.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe in doing something that is not possible for the auto industry, because that\u2019s our bread and butter here in Michigan,\u201d Slotkin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if they can\u2019t meet them [those standards], if they change what they\u2019re thinking they can do, then I\u2019m willing to have that conversation,\u201d Slotkin said, opening the door to opposing the administration\u2019s emissions goal.<\/p>\n

Rogers argued that \u201cmandates don\u2019t work; markets work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet people buy EVs. Let\u2019s build EVs here. The market for electric vehicles will catch up eventually, but you can\u2019t force it on people today,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge anxiety [among] people \u2014 it\u2019s not fair to the people who are working and building great cars here in Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n

How the candidates are handling abortion<\/h2>\n

Biden won Michigan by less than 3 percentage points in 2020, and abortion helped galvanize a historic election for Democrats in 2022, when they took control of the Legislature and held the governorship and voters codified reproductive access into law. Now, Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the state, according to recent polling.<\/p>\n

Since he launched his campaign for the Senate, Rogers has said that he respects Michigan\u2019s law codifying protections for abortion and contraceptives and that said he wouldn\u2019t take federal action on the issue. He praised the will of Michigan voters in a campaign ad last month, acknowledging abortion as \u201ca top concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

But years before the Supreme Court overturned the national right to an abortion, Rogers voted for several anti-abortion restrictions in the House. He also described himself as a \u201clifelong pro-life\u201d Republican.<\/p>\n

Slotkin said that she believes abortion will continue to have an impact on the race this year and that she supports \u201creforming the filibuster in some way\u201d to restore federal abortion rights.<\/p>\n

Whether or not Democrats vote to change the rules and lower the 60-vote threshold to a simple majority, as Harris said she supports, Slotkin said she thinks her party hasn\u2019t been \u201cproactive\u201d on key policy issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Pentagon, if I said, \u2018Let\u2019s just play defense; let\u2019s not really have a plan,\u2019 I\u2019d be fired. So I just don\u2019t accept that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Slotkin said she would use her background in \u201cstrategic planning\u201d in the Senate to come up with a five-year plan to restore federal abortion rights, and she criticized her predecessors in the Democratic Party for \u201cwaiting for bad things to happen\u201d rather than thinking ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Democrats that I hang out with have no idea, collectively, what our plan is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 The Michigan Senate race is one of several that could help determine control of the chamber and decide the presidential contest this fall. And unlike in some other swing states, both candidates in the open Senate race are sticking close to the tops of their tickets. GOP former Rep. Mike Rogers praised former<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2185],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump-election-news"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/2I2zT7gPxHbSHqCx6FjjcA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/ce40d3d7f5c52b33ff246530b481b739","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2889,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2887\/revisions\/2889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nine9ja.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}