The stage is set for November in Michigan’s battleground Senate race, with Tuesday’s primaries teeing up a general election contest between Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers.
The “toss-up” race to replace retiring longtime Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) could determine party control of the Senate as Democrats fight to retain their one-seat margin.
Both candidates glided to victory in their respective primaries and ultimately faced minimal competition after receiving support from the campaign arms of Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats.
With just 6% of the vote tallied, Rogers was around 70% of the vote, compared to about 12% for Republican-turned-libertarian former Rep. Justin Amash and less than 10% for physician Sherry O’Donnell.
Slotkin was at 75% with 9% of the vote tallied shortly after 9 p.m. when the Associated Press called the race. Actor and small business owner Hill Harper was at 25%.
Recent polling gives Slotkin a several-point advantage, but it remains within the margin of error. Democrats must retain both the seat and the White House to keep the Senate majority.
A significant element favoring Slotkin is her status as a fundraising juggernaut. She’s outraised Rogers by a nearly 5-to-1 margin so far, raking in $24 million this cycle with $8.7 million cash on hand compared to his $5.4 million raised and $2.5 million in the bank.
Democrats whacked Rogers for his endorsement from former President Donald Trump and accused him of being a “carpetbagger” for his ties to Florida after retiring from the House in 2014.
“While Elissa is fighting for Michigan, Mike Rogers has shown he’s only fighting for himself: he abandoned our state, went through the ‘revolving door’ in order to get rich and cash out working for companies tied to China, Saudi Arabia, and mega corporations,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), the chair of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm.
But Rogers comes with his own advantages. He’s looking to clinch a Michigan Senate seat for Republicans in what would be the first time in two decades. With an open seat, thanks to the retirement of Stabenow, who is 74 and was first elected to the upper chamber in 2000, Republicans see their greatest opportunity in decades to flip the state.
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The race was downgraded for Democrats in the Great Lakes State from “lean Democrat” to “toss-up” by the nonpartisan election forecaster Cook Political Report due to President Joe Biden’s potential down-ballot drag before he ended his campaign. Slotkin was among the Democrats who sounded the alarm over Biden’s ability to beat Trump.
Republicans are seeking to hurt Slotkin’s prospects by tying her to the Biden administration. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), chair of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said she has a “perfect 100% voting record for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s policies that have made life unaffordable, opened our southern border, and unleashed chaos around the world.”
