Michigan Senate hopeful Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is among the few high-profile Democrats in the Great Lakes State who will not attend President Joe Biden’s Friday evening campaign stop in Detroit.
Her absence comes a day after the battleground Senate race was tilted in the GOP’s favor and amid doubts from her and a growing number of other Democrats about whether Biden can defeat former President Donald Trump following the first presidential debate.
Also skipping Biden's Michigan stop are Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), who has been promoting her new book while being floated as a possible presidential candidate, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who leads the Senate's campaign arm and has insisted Biden's low approval rating won't hurt down ballot Democrats fighting for control of Congress.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), whose district includes the Detroit suburbs, did not respond to whether she’ll attend. The liberal "Squad" member backed the “uncommitted” primary vote movement against Biden in Michigan.
A Biden campaign attendee list omits Slotkin but includes several other state Democrats and left-leaning groups, including Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist (D-MI), Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Detroit Mayor Michael Duggan, and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
Slotkin’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Her House district borders the Detroit suburbs.
Slotkin’s decision to not appear with the president comes in the wake of her privately telling donors that Biden trails Trump in Michigan and expressing similar concerns in public. However, she has stopped short of calling on Biden to bow out of the race.
The Cook Political Report, an election forecaster, on Thursday moved the open Senate seat from “lean Democrat” to “toss up” due to Biden’s drag on downballot candidates.
Slotkin, the presumed Democratic nominee, is expected to face former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) in the general election to replace retiring longtime Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). The seat is one of more than a half-dozen competitive Senate races that Democrats must retain to have a shot at keeping their majority in the chamber.
The Senate Republicans' campaign arm sought to capitalize on the string of recent events that have bolstered the GOP’s outlook.
“Elissa Slotkin said it herself: Joe Biden can’t win Michigan,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Maggie Abboud said. “She is going to have a hard time untangling herself from Biden since she votes with him 100% of the time.”
Other battleground-state Democrats have also shied away from recent Biden appearances, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who declined to show up at a Biden rally last week in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.
Slotkin received flak from her left flank this week from Democratic opponent Hill Harper for not participating in primary debates for the race.
"To me, that's disrespectful," Harper told attendees of a candidate forum on Tuesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to a portion of the event seen by the Washington Examiner. "It's disrespectful to democracy, and it hurts the Democratic Party."
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Slotkin was not present due to being in Washington, D.C., for House votes.
"She has a record of winning tough races," a Slotkin campaign staffer said at the forum. "We have agendas and plans. ... She will be here a couple times in the next couple weeks."
Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.
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