Watch the full Michigan U.S. Senate debate below:
The Michigan U.S. Senate debate breakdown:
- On Monday, WXYZ-TV welcomed former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R) and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) to our Southfield studios for a debate in the race for the U.S. Senate
- This was the second debate between the candidates
- The debate was moderated by Editorial Director Chuck Stokes, 7 News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford and 7 News Detroit Anchor Alicia Smith
- The format of the debate and rules were as follows:
- There was no studio audience and no commercial breaks
- 90 second opening and closing candidate statements
- 60 second response from each candidate to panelist question
- 30 second rebuttal from each candidate per question
- All questions were decided and asked by the panelists
- Questions rotated between the candidates
Hear what the candidates had to say after the debate in the video below:
7 p.m. The Michigan U.S. Senate debate at WXYZ-TV kicked off with opening statements for both candidates.
Slotkin opened with statements first, introducing herself as a third-generation Michigander.
VIDEO: Watch Slotkin's opening statement below:
She explained that her service to the community began on 9/11 — when she knew her life was going to change. She said she got recruited by the CIA and worked for both a Democratic and Republican president.
“I believe in my bones that we need a strong and growing middle class,” she said as part of the focal point of her opening statement.
Slotkin said she was looking forward to the debate and hoped for a civil discussion.
Mike Rogers thanked Slotkin for being at the debate as part of his opening statement.
"Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Rogers asked, getting into the why behind his push to run. "The simple answer is absolutely not."
Rogers said he recently talked to a mom of four, who in tears, told him she had to go to a food pantry to feed her children.
Video: Watch Rogers' opening statement below:
“The policies coming out of Washington D.C. have been crushing to our families,” he said.
He also talked about auto workers across the state telling him EV mandates are killing their future and killing their jobs.
He said it's his goal to get busy on the very first day.
"I look forward to having your vote, I look forward to having a discussion here this evening," he said.
Question 1: How would your economic policies help working families in Michigan?
The first question focused on the economy and helping people throughout the State of Michigan. In fact, a study found that 81% of registered voters say the economy will be very important when it comes to their vote.
Rogers was first to answer the question and said that if he were a senator, there would be things they need to do very quickly and his experience would help.
He focused on what he said were the trillions of dollars in wasteful spending by the Biden Administration with support from Slotkin.
He said a few things need to be done: Energy independence, undoing the regulation and curtailing spending to get the economy back on track.
Slotkin responded and said the economy is the top issue she hears about on the campaign trail. She said there are three specific things she would do as a senator:
- Bring supply chains and manufacturing back to the U.S.
- Attack costs that are major parts of the budget
- Focus on the tax policy that supports and promotes a strong middle-class
Rogers rebutted and said that’s where he and Slotkin differ, saying that voting for increased taxes on the middle class doesn’t help them. However, Slotkin responded and said that Rogers voted against middle-class tax cuts.
“The most important thing we need to do is be honest and attack the biggest things in peoples’ budgets,” she said.
Watch their full responses in the video player above.
Question 2: Are we investing too much in EVs and battery plants?
The second question focused on EV and battery plants and asked if the country is investing too much in them as America competes with China.
Slotkin responded saying the kind of car that people drive does not matter to her, adding that she lives on a farm off a dirt road and driving an EV is not something she’s personally looking into in the near future. But, she said she wants Michigan residents to make the next generation of vehicles instead of China.
“Right now, everyone knows China is eating our lunch on these kind of vehicles,” she said. “And America knows we have not always gotten it right when it comes to seeing that next generation of vehicles.”
Slotkin said Michigan residents building the next generation of vehicles will save auto jobs. She said about 700 jobs in her district in the Lansing area were saved at a plant due to upgrades being made.
“I don’t care what you want to drive, but I want to build them,” she said.
Rogers started his response by saying, “What a candidate says and what they do in their office for the last five years (is) really, really important.”
He said Slotkin has voted for an EV mandate several times.
“I’m telling you, it’s just ruining our car industry,” Rogers said.
He said thousands of auto dealers wrote a letter to the Biden administration to let them know they’re “killing the car business” and to stop the EV mandates.
He said it’s wrong that Chinese technology is being promoted in America.
“Let’s go to hybrids. People are buying them. You don’t have to mandate that they drive them,” Rogers said.
In Slotkin’s rebuttal, she said there is no EV mandate and again said it does not matter to her what kind of car people drive. She said Rogers claims to care about American manufacturing but doesn’t want to compete against China.
In his rebuttal, Rogers said 29,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since Slotkin has been in office. He added that more jobs would be lost with EV mandates and that America can make more hybrid vehicles.
Watch their full responses in the video above
Question 3: As a United States senator, if elected, will you authorize more budget spending on two international conflicts where there is no cease-fire and no clear resolution in sight?
A hot topic among many Michiganders has been the ongoing conflicts around the world, including both the Israel-Gaza War and the Russia-Ukraine War.
Rogers first answered the question by talking about the events of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Irasel, calling it “the most brutal terrorist attack, maybe ever.”
He said that a ceasefire cannot be reached until the Israeli hostages return home, and then a conversation can be had.
“Hamas doesn’t want that. They want to continue to fight in Israel,” Rogers said.
He then turned his focus to Iran and the funding they have done to several groups in the Middle East.
When asked again if he’d authorize more spending, he said he’d make sure we support Israel and then do a lend-lease program with Ukraine.
Slotkin also focused much of her answer on Iran and talked about how she sees the need for America to be a world leader.
"Obviously what’s going on in Israel is deeply, deeply painful. We need a ceasefire. We need a negotiated ceasefire where hostages come home where we go into a different phase of this conflict,” she said. “Iran has deeply complicated that by firing ballistic missiles.”
On Ukraine, Slotkin said that the U.S. has a responsibility to defend democracy and arm the Ukrainians.
During the rebuttals, Rogers talked about how Slotkin worked on the Iran Nuclear Deal and was part of several bad decisions, while Slotkin focused on her service in the Middle East and mentioned Rogers’ vote to authorize a war in Iraq.
Watch their full responses in the video above
Question 4: How do you plan to address abortion and reproductive rights?
Slotkin went first in this question round. She said she did not support overturning Roe.
“For me, I am crystal clear: Mr. Rogers has voted for every bill, every ban, every restriction on abortion that came in front of him for 20 straight years,” said Slotkin.
She accused Rogers of changing his position to not upset voters.
“Do not trust him on this issue,” she said.
Rogers said it is the most heart-wrenching decision a woman would ever have to make — and that it’s a decision that is best made with her family, with her partner.
Rogers accused Slotkin of misrepresenting his positions on the issue.
“The state of Michigan and the people of Michigan went to the polls and voted. They voted to make abortion legal and they put it a part of their constitution, our constitution. So I won’t do anything when I go back to the United States Senate to undo the vote of the people and their position,” he said.
Slotkin in her rebuttal talked about his voting record, calling it not a misrepresentation — but the way he voted.
“I am so sick of people who don’t understand women’s health, who don’t understand reproductive rights,” said Slotkin.
Rogers in his rebuttal reinforced that he will respect the vote of the people.
He then pivoted to talk about Title IV, accusing Slotkin of not protecting girls in sports because of her position on Title IV.
Watch their full responses in the video above
Question 5: How would you enhance border security and improve the legal immigration system?
This question focused on border security and the legal immigration system, asking both candidates about the policies they’d propose to improve them.
Rogers said reinforcing the remain-in-Mexico policy should be at the top of the list, saying it “absolutely has to happen.”
He said people being able to stay in the U.S. when they apply leaves the border wide open and brings in criminals, drugs and human trafficking.
“You can see the problems everywhere. Matter of fact, the sheriff of Oakland County was just talking about another series of raids by illegal immigrants last night in Oakland County,” Rogers said.
He said the border and legal immigration “is a problem we have to deal with.” He ended saying the problem can’t be addressed until the border is more secure.
Slotkin she has experience protecting the country in her previous work as a CIA officer and Pentagon official.
“I have done more border legislation than any member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, in the state of Michigan because no one’s proud of what’s going on at the Southern border,” Slotkin said.
She said what’s happening at the border “is a symptom of a broken immigration system.”
Slotkin said every country needs to know who is crossing their borders, adding that more needs to be done in the U.S.
She said lawmakers from across the aisle in the Senate were working on a compromising bill that Rogers was against it.
“They would rather have immigration and border as a political issue than actually do the real work and get things done,” she said.
In Rogers’ rebuttal, he talked about the bill Slotkin mentioned that he voted against. He said he was against it in a bipartisan way and “it was a terrible bill” and millions of illegal immigrants would be allowed into the country.
“That is nonsense. That is a nonstarter,” he said.
Slotkin in her rebuttal said the people who work at the borders in Michigan endorsed the bill.
“Do you know better than they do about how to secure a border?” Slotkin said.
She said lawmakers should he working together to secure the border, and that’s what Americans expect.
She said while working at the Pentagon, if she did not want to do something for political reasons, she would have been fired.
Watch their full responses in the video above
Question 6: Do you believe America needs stricter gun laws? Yes, or no? And why?
Slotkin was the first to respond about the need for stricter gun laws with a quick “Yes.”
She talked about how she grew up with guns, learning with her father, shooting skeet and target practice with her brothers, calling it part of Michigan’s culture.
“This idea that we can’t go after the No. 1 killer of children in America is broken,” Slotkin said. “While Mr. Rogers was off in Florida, I was representing this district, where we had not one, but two school shootings in my district – Oxford High School and Michigan State University,” she said.
Slotkin talked about having to explain PTSD to a 14-year-old who was in his classroom when another student opened fire.
“To me, we have to, as Democrats and Republicans, gun owners and non-gun owners, go after the No. 1 killer of our children in our communities in our schools, by suicide, by accident,” she said.
Rogers responded by saying that the country needs to enforce the gun laws that we currently have, and also deal with mental health issues happening in our schools.
“This generation of Americans is under mental duress and distress like I have never seen before. It means that we’re going to have to come together on how we get ahead of these problems. Banning guns isn’t going to do it,” Rogers said.
He also said that the two shootings Slotkin mentioned were by handguns, while “everyone always talks about the other kinds of guns."
“We need to get at the root of the problem – mental health. If we don’t tackle this mental health issue, we’re going to be in trouble,” he said.
During rebuttal, Slotkin once again reiterated that guns are the No. 1 killer of children in the country, and said her opponent, Rogers, doesn’t want to do anything about it. She mentioned his 100% rating with the gun lobby and said he doesn’t want to lose campaign donations.
Rogers responded by saying with Slotkin’s passion, she would’ve introduced a series of bills in Congress, but did not.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for a big chunk of my life. I was an FBI agent, I worked the streets. I understand what victims are and how we get at this problem. The way we do it is through constructive dialogue with these schools, with mental health,” Rogers said.
You can watch their full responses in the video above.
Question 7: How would you improve Michigan’s K-12 education system?
Rogers had the first shot at this question, saying he could spend an hour talking about this issue.
“This to me may be the biggest civil rights issue of our generation,” he said.
He said he supports reading programs with intensive tutoring to help students get to their grade level when it comes to their reading abilities.
Slotkin said it’s the responsibility of any leader to make sure the next generation gets educated.
“To me, the federal government is responsible for a lot of funding to make sure that we get our schools fully funded,” said Slotkin.
She also talked about low teacher pay.
“I am a believer in public education — Mr. Rogers and I may differ on this,” she said.
She said one of Rogers’ biggest supporters is Betsy DeVos.
Rogers rebutted by saying he went to public schools and his dad was a shop teacher, and said Slotkin went to an elite private school.
He also accused Slotkin of talking about everything else besides the topic at hand, saying he didn’t know how DeVos had anything to do with them trying to prove education for our kids.
In her rebuttal, Slotkin said DeVos is clearly connected to the discussion with her history as Secretary of Education and defunding of public schools.
"Every kid in every corner of our state should have fair access to education," said Slotkin.
You can watch their full responses in the video above.
Question 8 - This question was from Leena A. from Flushing. “As health care costs continue to rise, many Americans struggle to meet basic medical needs What ideas would you support or propose to attain an affordable health care system while maintaining high-quality medical care.”
Slotkin was the first to respond, talking about how this is a personal issue for her. She said her mother passed away from ovarian cancer in 2011 and she didn’t have health insurance. She said they found out about her diagnosis and helped her declare bankruptcy in the same week.
“I don’t have to imagine what I would do on this issue, I have done it,” she said.
Slotkin talked about the work she has done to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, saying that before, Medicare was prohibited from doing that.
“Why? Because people like Mike Rogers voted for it five times. He voted for it 5 times. How is it possible to vote against Medicare negotiation to bring down the price?” she said.
Rogers then talked about how it’s also a personal issue for him, being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19 and also dealing with his father’s kidney cancer.
During his response, Rogers discussed that the bill also still has expensive prices, and that the United States is supporting the rest of the world when it comes to research and development and cost of drugs.
“We should not be paying for foreign governments' medicine when it comes to prescription drugs,” Rogers said.
During the rebuttal, Slotkin called Rogers’ response “rich” and again reiterated his votes against Medicare negotiating drug prices.
Rogers said during his rebuttal to look at prices that have gone up in the last six years while Slotkin was in office.
You can watch their full responses in the video above.
Question 9: What legislation will you offer to strengthen social security?
Rogers took the first shot at this question, saying it’s important to strengthen and protect social security going forward.
He talked about his parents and how they counted on it in retirement.
“If we are ever going to solve social security, we’re going to have to have a bipartisan commission that actually sits down and goes through the numbers,” said Rogers.
He said his opponent had five years to do something — and accused her of doing nothing.
Slotkin opened her response to the question by saying the senior citizens of the state can know exactly what they’re going to get with Mike Rogers.
She said he voted to privatize or cut back Social Security and Medicare over a dozen times.
“Look at it, it’s just an open record,” she said.
“We don’t have to guess what Mike Rogers will do in the seat, he has shown us who he is over and over and over again.”
She accused him of having donors swaying his vote.
Rogers fired back at Slotkin during his rebuttal, accusing her of dishonesty and telling her she should “be ashamed” of herself.
“I’m telling you what’s happening right now, people are afraid for their future in this state, they can’t afford groceries … and you know who gave them all of that? My opponent in the last five years,” he said.
Rogers said he wants to go to Washington to fix it.
Slotkin doubled down on referencing Rogers’ voting record in her rebuttal.
“This is not trying to scare anyone other than to outline his record,” she said. “Just own your record, Mike, man.”
You can watch their full responses in the video above.
Question 10: How would you address the increase in climate-related disasters?
Climate change is something that has impacted the Great Lakes and Michigan, and we asked both candidates about it.
Slotkin said that while we haven’t been hit as bad as other places, we’re still seeing the changes in our state.
“I believe in climate change and that it’s real and we need to do something about it,” Slotkin said. “For me, we also know we’re going to need more energy.”
Slotkin said that she’d take an “all-of-the-above” approach, investing in traditional sources, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear.
“All of those things help us maintain our independence but increase the amount of energy we know we’re going to need,” she said.
Rogers also said that it’s an important issue for him as well, and that Slotkin has had an election-year conversion to being for all of the above.
“I believe we can get there if we’re smart,” Rogers said about addressing climate change.
He said there shouldn’t be EV mandates, and that they should instead focus on modular nuclear reactors to try and get the electric grid ready.
He also said that hybrid vehicles, built in the State of Michigan, would help the climate and autoworkers.
“If we do all of these things, we can get to a better climate,” he said.
Slotkin, during her rebuttal, said that she and Rogers have different records and feelings on protecting the Great Lakes. She said it’s her No. 1 issue and that she’s worked to pass many bills protecting them.
Rogers said that you can focus on protecting the Great Lakes and having a better electric grid, but not with big government mandates.
Watch their full responses in the video above
Question 11: How would you address the rising cost of higher education & would you forgive student loan debt?
This question focused on higher education and asked the candidates if they’re for or against forgiving student loan debt and how’d they’d address lower the cost. According to the Education Data Initiative, 14% of Michigan residents have student loan debt, with the average amount being $35,790. The data shows nationwide, only 18 other states and the District of Columbia have higher college debt than Michigan.
Rogers said the cost is “a huge problem” for all generations but especially now. He said he doesn’t think someone else should pay for a person’s debt in school. However, he said he believes it can be worked off through working a job that the country needs.
“We have a desperate need for school counselors. Let’s make sure if you have that debt, you spend some time in a public school doing school counseling, you get relief on your student debt,” he said.
Rogers said that joining the military could be another option for working to pay off student loan debt, adding that a military class hasn’t been recruited in the last four years.
“Let’s not just do it by giving you a check. Let’s find a way that you can give back to your country and then we can help you in that way,” Rogers said.
Slotkin said student loans should be capped at 2.5%. She said students are taking out loans with interest in the double digits.
She talked about how generations are in massive debt. She said decades ago, the state was covering most of the cost of tuition and that has since reversed.
“And they’re living under that debt for the rest of their lives,” she said. “I think that going to school is different than building a deck on your house. It’s an investment in society.”
She agreed with Rogers that there should be a way to get tuition reduced by serving in a job that is much needed for the country.
Question 12: With rising partisan divide, the spread of misinformation and growing incivility in political discourse, what specific steps would you take to encourage bipartisan cooperation, safeguard democracy, and promote respectful dialogue both in Congress and among your constituents?
Slotkin answered first, talking about her national security background where she said you work with people for years and it doesn’t matter who they voted for.
“For me, civility, decency and respect between parties is a positive thing. We want two healthy parties that debate the role of government in our lives, that’s how it should be,” Slotkin said.
She said that this period of instability starts with defending democracy and that every person must support the democracy we have.
She said she has a real problem with misinformation and disinformation, and she barricaded herself in her office on Jan. 6.
“I think everyone has the responsibility to support free and fair elections,” Slotkin said, adding that she will respect the winner.
During Rogers’ answer, he talked about his work as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, working alongside a Democratic vice chair on several items.
“That takes leadership, it takes effort, it takes a lot of work,” he said.
During the rebuttal, Slotkin said that 2014 Mike Rogers was happy to be bipartisan, but 2024 Mike Rogers isn’t.
“He sits next to Mr. Trump as he spreads misinformation and disinformation. I want the 2014 Mike Rogers back,” she said.
Rogers said that 2014 Mike Rogers is still here, but what’s different is that gas prices, grocery prices, energy prices and more are up.
Finally, you can watch each of their closing statements in the video below:
