Michigan US Senate debate: Rogers, Slotkin race could determine control

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. ( WOOD ) — With Democrats clinging to a tiny two-seat majority in the United States Senate, Republicans have targeted several races in a bid to take control of the chamber in the next Congress.

Michigan is already at the center stage of this election cycle as presidential candidates vie to lock down 15 Electoral College votes in the state. But the retirement of Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow has set off an open race for a seat Democrats must have if they hope to fend off Republican control of the Senate.

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is hoping to flip the seat red, while U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin seeks to replace Stabenow as a Democrat. To date, polling averages have shown Slotkin with a single-digit lead in the race, however, analysts are still rating the race as a “toss-up.”

The two candidates met for an hourlong debate at Nexstar’s WOOD TV8. You can watch the debate in it’s entirety in the player above.

Rogers and Slotkin discussed a range of issues including housing, social security, the conflict in Gaza, electric vehicles and much more.

An Emerson College Polling survey released in mid-September showed Slotkin leading in that race, with 47% of those surveyed saying they would vote for her and 42% saying they would vote for Rogers. That’s a five-point difference, outside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%. Eleven percent said they were undecided.

Stabenow is retiring after holding the seat for 24 years. Michigan’s other U.S. senator, Gary Peters, also a Democrat, is next up for election in 2026. It has been 30 years since a Republican (Stabenow’s predecessor) held a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan.

The general election is Nov. 5. Absentee voting is already underway in Michigan. Early in-person voting — now mandatory in Michigan — must start statewide no later than Oct. 26.

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