WASHINGTON, D.C. (WZMQ 19 News) — With less than a month until the Nov. 5 election, the U.S. Senate race to replace long-time Senator Debbie Stabenow (D- MI) is heating up.
On November 5, Michigan voters will choose between two major party candidates to represent them in the Senate: Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D- MI) and former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers.
The candidates have some things in common. They both have deep ties to Michigan, they both have spent years building impressive resumes and they’ve both served in Congress. However, many of their policies and approaches to the issues are quite different.
Slotkin is a former CIA officer and Pentagon official, with three tours alongside U.S. military in Iraq. According to her campaign bio, Slotkin decided to run for office after her mother died of ovarian cancer in 2011. “Protections for people with pre-existing conditions and the exorbitant cost of healthcare and prescription drugs got Elissa into politics, and it remains one of her top priorities,” reads part of Slotkin’s campaign bio.
Republican Mike Rogers was born and raised in Livingston County, Michigan. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Army and was a Special Agent in the FBI. As a Special Agent, Rogers focused on organized crime and corruption in Chicago, according to his campaign bio. In 1994 Rogers served in the Michigan Senate before serving in Congress from 2001- 2015 and as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Over $70 million total have been spent by both candidates and outside groups in a race that the Cook Political Report considers a “toss up.”
THE ISSUES
LINE 5 PIPELINE:
SLOTKIN:
“For me, for any Michigander, but I think especially for Yoopers, protecting our Great Lakes is just part and parcel of what it means to be a Michigander. Our water is our identity, it’s our history, it’s our natural heritage,” said Slotkin.
“We’ve got a really old pipeline that’s over 60 years old, and that concerns me. I believe that an old pipeline that’s outlived its age limit should be shut down,” said Slotkin, adding that she would strengthen federal oversight if elected Michigan’s next Senator. “So, whatever happens there with the current pipeline, with a future tunnel, all of those things, the oversight has to be something we can depend on.”
ROGERS:
“I think it’s in desperate need of maintenance, I think that the pipe is laying on the bottom of the lake, I just don’t think that’s safe,” said Rogers. “Having a pipe that’s encased in concrete is a lot safer than just laying it on the bottom of the water. And so I’d be for actually modernizing that, making it safer and keeping prices affordable. We absolutely need that energy to keep our energy prices low. The U.P. is getting crushed in energy prices, which is making everything more expensive,” said Rogers.
BORDER SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION:
ROGERS:
“When you advertise to the world that your southern border is wide open, that we really don’t care about our northern border, guess what? Bad guys are going to take advantage of it. And that’s what’s happening,” said Rogers, who also says he’d crack down on sanctuary cities. “They’re inviting a criminal element into the country that costs everybody money. I would try to eliminate sanctuary cities as much as I can.”
SLOTKIN:
“No one should be coming here illegally. If you try to come here illegally, you should be sent back immediately and you shouldn’t be allowed to come back,” said Slotkin, who also discussed the importance of certain migrants to the economy.
“If our farmers need more labor, they should apply from their home country. We should make that a faster process to get vetted, to make sure that someone’s getting that proper intelligence check. We should make that something that’s key to the needs of, let’s say, Mackinaw business owners. Every single year I hear from them about the need for more H-2B visas. Legal, vetted labor,” said Slotkin.
ABORTION:
SLOTKIN:
“I believe in a woman’s right to choose and in the Roe standard, as we call it,” said Slotkin.
ROGERS:
“I think it’s always best left to the states. Trying to federalize this issue, I think, is a mistake,” said Rogers. “We’ve come to consensus in the state of Michigan. It’s legal. I’m not going to go to Washington, D.C. and vote against anything that contradicts what the people of Michigan have decided.”
Rogers says he has always supported exceptions in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.
SENATE FILLIBUSTER:
Rogers and Slotkin also have different views on reforming the filibuster—a Senate tradition used to prolong debate or prevent a vote on a bill. Senate rules require a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster.
SLOTKIN:
“Let’s reform it. There’s lots of different ways to do it,” said Slotkin. “Allow people to vote on the issues of our time and just put your money where your mouth is. You want to vote against something or for something, do it, but don’t just prevent the vote from happening.”
ROGERS:
“That’s code word for ramming through things that aren’t very popular with the American people. The one thing that that filibuster does is it causes people in the Senate to have to work together. You have to reach across the aisle. You have to have conversations,” said Rogers.
“They’ve talked about packing the Supreme Court with people that only agree with them, not decide the law, but only agree with them so that they get decisions they want. That’s why they want to undo the filibuster. I think we should protect it as that one mechanism in America that says, everybody calm down, take a deep breath and let’s work this out.”
STOCK TRADING FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:
ROGERS:
“They should put it in a blind trust and not be involved in it. I don’t I don’t think they should be able to trade on information,” said Rogers.
“We need trust in the institution and if the easiest way to do that is just ban stock trading- doesn’t mean you shouldn’t own stocks, put it in a blind trust, there’s ways they can protect it so you’re not influencing those decisions- that’s the way I’d do that.”
SLOTKIN:
“On both sides of the aisle, you have people who make money trading stocks. And I just have a problem with that,” said Slotkin, who is the cosponsor and coauthor of legislation in the House to ban stock trading for members of Congress and their spouses. “Put it into a blind trust so you’re not the one making the trades.”
VOTING RECORDS:
In recent weeks, Slotkin has come under attack by Republicans over her stance on a Biden administration tailpipe emissions rule which would require up to two-thirds of new cars sold to be electric vehicles by 2032.
In a recent ad, Slotkin said “No one should tell us what to buy, and no one is going to mandate anything.” However, Republicans have accused Slotkin of flip-flopping on the issue after she voted against a measure that would’ve overturned the administration’s rule on tailpipe emissions.
“I’m an all of the above guy. If you can make wind work, make wind work, if you can make solar work, make solar work. But these mandates are killing us,” said Rogers, who is critical of the Biden Administration’s EV mandate. “This is a dumb idea. We don’t have to do it this way. Listen, you want an EV, buy one. But listen, you drive that Chevy Bolt up in the U.P. in January, might get sucked up in a snow blower and we’ll find you in your neighbor’s yard. I think that there is an opportunity here to get better on the environment without these heavy vehicle mandates,” Rogers added.
Also in recent weeks, Democrats have hit Rogers hard on his voting record in Congress, especially on the issue of abortion. Michigan Democrats accuse Rogers of having supported a national abortion ban and have pointed to reports that suggest Rogers sent numerous letters to constituents pledging to ban abortion and to “protect the lives of the unborn,” during his time in Congress. Democrats have also attacked Rogers on his support for “legislation to withdraw federal approval of the abortion-inducing medication Mifepristone.”
Each candidate feels strongly that their record and previous experience make them the best candidate for the role.
“I just come from a background that’s not 20 years in politics, it’s national security. It’s protecting the country. And I think that just changes how you approach a job,” said Slotkin, who touts a bipartisan record in Congress. “I was named the 14th most bipartisan member of Congress out of 435 and the most bipartisan in Michigan either party. And I’m proud of that.”
“I know how to get things done. I know how to build coalitions,” said Rogers.
To learn more about Mike Rogers, you can visit his campaign website here.
To learn more about Elissa Slotkin, you can visit her campaign website here.
