Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Elissa Slotkin squared off Tuesday night, making their case to voters in a race that could help shape federal policymaking for the next president.
One of the biggest issues candidates sparred about was the economy.
“If we don’t get gas prices down, we won’t get food prices down,” Rogers said. “There is no sense from buying oil from Venezuela when we have capability here in this country. Regulation has to stop.”
Slotkin said she would work to bring down the prices of large expenses, like medication and housing.
“Up North, we’re working on workforce housing,” she said. “If you’re a cop, if you’re a nurse, if you’re a teacher, and you can’t afford to live in Traverse City, how do we make sure that you can do your job and actually live not an hour away, but in the community?”
Rogers says high interest rates have influenced housing prices, and that cutting federal spending would increase access.
Slotkin and Rogers also accused each other of being soft on China.
“You cannot get promoted to the Senate if you don’t understand how the Chinese operate,” he said of Slotkin.
The conversation centered on electric vehicle production, an industry in which China has a massive stake.
“I was the one who wrote the legislation that said we should be able to ban the Chinese from buying our farmland, ban the Chinese from buying our manufacturing facilities,” Slotkin said.
The candidates also spoke about abortion, which Slotkin said is a topic that Rogers shouldn’t be trusted on.
“He’s changed 30 years of being unilaterally pro life, of never breaking once with his party on this issue,” she said. “So today, it’s not a talking point to women — it is our lives.”
Rogers said that he wouldn’t take federal action to go against Michigan’s state constitution that guarantees the right to an abortion.
“I think those decisions are best made where her doctor is, where her family is, where her faith is — and in 2022 to set aside what was a divisive issue across America, states got to make the determination,” he said.
The candidates will meet again Oct. 15 for a debate in Detroit.
Voters will have through Election Day on Nov. 5 to make their pick in the race. Absentee voting has already begun, while in-person early voting will begin by Oct. 26. More information on voting can be found with the Michigan Secretary of State.