Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers clashed over national security, immigration and abortion at a debate Tuesday as each candidate vies to be the next U.S. senator from Michigan. 

Retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has endorsed Slotkin, a three-term lawmaker who currently represents Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, to fill her seat. Rogers served in the House from 2001-2015, was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and has been endorsed by former President Trump. 

This race in battleground Michigan is close, though Slotkin has enjoyed an average 5 percentage point lead in public opinion polls. The victor could very well determine which major party gains control of the Senate next year. Fox News’ Power Rankings list the Michigan Senate race as Lean D.

The hour-long debate hosted by NBC affiliate WOOD TV was mostly polite and issues-focused. However, there were several times when the candidates accused each other of lying or twisting the facts of their records. 

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“Dishonest and deceptive,” Rogers fumed after Slotkin insisted he repeatedly voted to “privatize or cut Medicare and Social Security” while he was a member of Congress. “I’m not even sure she could pass the polygraph test in the CIA anymore,” he said, referring to Slotkin’s former career as a CIA analyst.

Slotkin hit back later after Rogers said she was “huffing at the microphone” during a discussion about nuclear power and competition with China. 

“It’s just sad that a guy who considers himself a national security guy can’t see that we need to work together on this issue, not lie repeatedly,” she said. 

Early voting is underway in swing state Michigan and both candidates pitched themselves as willing to work with the other side. Each attacked the other as a partisan. 

“We’re a very purple state. Lots of Democrats, lots of Republicans,” Slotkin acknowledged. “I was voted the 14th most bipartisan member of Congress out of 435.” 

She noted that Rogers served as deputy whip in the House, “the guy who got everyone to vote with the Republicans.” 

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Rep. Elissa Slotkin speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Rogers in turn said Slotkin contributed to high gas prices, inflated grocery bills and increasing crime by “voting 100% with the Biden-Harris agenda.” He said that if elected to the Senate, he “will look for every opportunity to be bipartisan.” 

The candidates appeared deeply divided on issues of foreign policy, national security, immigration and abortion. 

Slotkin framed electric vehicle production in Michigan as a national security issue. “I don’t care what kind of car you want to drive,” she said, before adding that it will either be “us or China” that builds the next generation of vehicles. 

“China is eating our lunch on these types of vehicles,” Slotkin continued, warning that Michigan’s auto industry may repeat a historic mistake by “ceding ground” to a foreign competitor if America does not invest in EVs. 

Rogers accused Slotkin of supporting EV mandates and pointed out, “85% of everything processed in electric vehicles has to go through China.” 

“Why in God’s green earth we would cede that auto market to the Communist Party of China is beyond me,” he said. “My opponent has multiple times supported EV mandates, trying to pick the cars that our companies have to build and the cars that you’re going to have to buy. And by the way, that got us 2,400 layoffs at Stellantis, a thousand layoffs at General Motors. Ford is talking about closing two lines. The CEO of Ford came out and said this is unworkable. It won’t work for America.”

The debate became heated as each candidate tried to accuse the other of having a close relationship with China. Rogers repeated allegations he’s made on the campaign trail that Slotkin signed a non-disclosure agreement with Gotion, a Chinese-linked company that has received $175 million in taxpayer money to build a battery plant in Big Rapids. Slotkin said her opponent’s claims were “offensive” and shot back that Rogers was chief security officer of AT&T “when they were actively working to get Chinese companies into our telecoms.” Rogers denied the charge. 

In another exchange on the Middle East, Rogers jabbed at “my opponent’s notion that their somehow serving in Iraq gives permission to be wrong in the entire effort toward Iran.” Slotkin accompanied troops as a CIA analyst during three tours in Iraq. 

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Former Rep. Mike Rogers speaks during a campaign event hosted by former President Trump at the Falk Productions manufacturing facility on Sept. 27, 2024, in Walker, Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

When the topic turned to abortion, Rogers said the choice to terminate a pregnancy is “the most heart-wrenching decision a woman will ever have to make.” 

Acknowledging that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, permitting states to regulate abortion, Rogers said, “The people of Michigan voted overwhelmingly to make abortion legal in a part of the state constitution of Michigan. I will do nothing when I go back to Washington, D.C., to do anything that would change what the Michigan Constitution, voted on by the people of Michigan, have given us that guidance to go back.”

Slotkin said she would vote for a bill to codify Roe – thereby erasing state restrictions on abortion – and said Rogers could not be trusted on the issue. “He voted for every single ban, every restriction, every bill that came across his desk to make it harder for a woman and to ban, in some cases, a woman and her right to choose 56 times in total.” 

“He voted and sponsored bills that would make it impossible to have IVF and contraception,” she asserted. “If he does not trust us to protect our own rights, do not trust him.” 

“Deceive and deception,” retorted Rogers. “I have come out and talked about making sure that IVF is available for families so they can grow their families. It’s a very personal thing for these families, and I support it 100%.”

Slotkin also framed Rogers as a carpetbagger, noting that he was living in Cape Coral, Florida, while Michigan voters took up the abortion question in a ballot initiative in 2022, before Rogers returned to Michigan to run for Senate. 

On immigration, Slotkin said the “system is broken” and that Congress must do more to secure the border. “To me, if you are not here legally, you should not be here. You should go back to your home country and be removed to your home country.” She accused Republicans of using the issue as a “political talking point,” noting that a bipartisan border security deal in the Senate fell apart after GOP opposition. 

Rogers said he was “delighted to hear that my opponent has had a conversion about border security” after supporting the Biden administration’s policies. 

“Here’s the thing. You can’t vote against the wall. You can’t vote against sanctuary cities,” he continued. “You cannot do the things that you’ve been doing in allowing 10 million people to come into our country. We spent something like $450 billion on taking care of illegals’ room and board and phones and health care. That’s enough money to pay for every Michigan teacher and every Michigan state trooper for 15 years.”

He called the bipartisan bill Slotkin referenced “a bill to exacerbate and make permanent the problem.” 

Tuesday’s debate was the first of two planned debates between the Senate hopefuls. A second debate hosted by Detroit’s WXYZ-TV Channel 7 is scheduled for next Monday.