Michigan Rep. Slotkin on what issues are driving crucial Midwest voters

Michigan is among this election’s crucial battleground states, part of the Democrats’ so-called “blue wall” in the Midwest. The stakes are even higher this cycle with a highly competitive and closely watched Senate race in the state. Amna Nawaz speaks with Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., the party’s Senate nominee.

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Amna Nawaz: Well, among the crucial battleground states this election is Michigan, part of the Democrats’ so-called blue wall.

The stakes are even higher this cycle because of a highly competitive and a closely watched Senate race in the state.

Representative Elissa Slotkin is the Democratic Party’s Senate nominee. And I spoke with her moments ago.

Congresswoman, welcome back to the “News Hour.” Thanks for being here.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Senatorial Candidate: Thanks for having me.

Amna Nawaz: So, you’re running for an open Senate seat against Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers. How has your race shifted or changed since the top of the Democratic ticket changed? What have you seen?

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes, I mean, I think it’s hard to overstate the amount of energy that has been generated by the change. And even I didn’t totally anticipate it.

I think, whether it’s in our cities, our suburbs or even our rural conservative areas, people are walking into offices, Democratic offices, saying like, hey, I never come to one of these things, but how do I volunteer?

We have seen the number of people signing up to volunteer just go through the roof. And I just think people feel really positive. They want a generational shift. And President Biden did an incredibly patriotic thing, but you can feel that desire to kind of move on and — from him, but also from Trump.

I mean, I think people want to feel good again. And that is something that the top-of-the-ticket change has really helped with.

Amna Nawaz: I mean, something about winning very tight races. You have done it before. Your race currently is rated toss-up by Cook Political Reports.

So, you feel like your chances improved because the ticket changed?

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes, I think voter turnout among Democrats will be very high. I think we’re seeing really big enthusiasm, particularly young people and people who said straight up they weren’t going to vote before the change.

So we definitely see that change. But, in Michigan, you need good voter turnout from one party and then you need to win the independents. And that 20 percent of our voters that are independent swing voters, that’s who really decides,ultimately, elections.

And so the race isn’t over by any means. I tell people, like, don’t get so high that you can’t actually do the work to win this election. And it’s far from over in August.

Amna Nawaz: So how do you get to those independents? And I ask that in the context of knowing, on this stage tonight, we’re going to be hearing from a lot of Republican voices.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Mm-hmm.

Amna Nawaz: This is something that the Harris/Walz ticket wants to work in as sort of creating a permission structure to show people…

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes.

Amna Nawaz: … you don’t have to be a Democrat to support us right now. How do you reach independents in the state of Michigan? What’s the lesson?

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes, I mean, I wouldn’t be here without them, right,and moderate Republican women who have voted in Michigan with Democrats for the last six years.

I think you have to do a couple of things. Number one, you have to go to places that Democrats don’t usually show up, right? You got to go to conservative small towns. You got to go to red parts of the state of Michigan, where maybe they haven’t seen a Democrat show up in 40 years. Show them you don’t have horns and a tail. Show them that you’re a reasonable, practical person, in my case, a national security person, CIA officer by training.

And then you got to talk about issues that affect people’s pocketbooks and their kids, right? You can have all the highfalutin concepts in a policy paper that you want. In Michigan, if you’re not talking about people’s pocketbooks and their kids, you’re just not really talking to everybody.

So, to me, that’s a big lesson that Democrats should be using across the Midwest. And we’re really excited that finally the Midwest is getting its recognition. We have a Midwesterner on the — in V.P. Walz, or potential V.P. Walz, and we have a potential V.P. J.D. Vance.

And…

Amna Nawaz: Do you think Walz helps you as well?

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: I think, in Michigan, and in the Midwest in general, we all know people like Tim Walz and we all know people like J.D. Vance.

We know the coach, the teacher that you love, the guy who’s going to teach you how to drive and make you keep jumper cables in your car. And we all know people like J.D. Vance, who are all about splitting people apart, dividing people, angry, that angry guy at the town meeting.

So I think the vision that most of us want is a positive vision of Midwest values. And I think Tim Walz does a great job of embodying that.

Amna Nawaz: There is a challenge we have seen here in the room, among the protesters outside the convention for this ticket. You have navigated really well walking a very difficult line back home in Michigan. And that is among the more progressive and younger voters, the more than 100,000 people who voted uncommitted in Michigan’s primary protesting the Biden administration’s policy in the Middle East war.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes.

Amna Nawaz: They want to see a different policy, not just a different message.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes.

Amna Nawaz: Do you think this ticket should articulate a different policy to help win those voters back?

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Well, I think they should be transparent about their policy, right? I mean, no one’s ever going to agree with their elected officials 100 percent of the time. Trust me, as an elected official, it’s not possible.

But what they do need to do is show transparency. What are you going to do? How is it the same? How is it different? And then how do you engage with people? The thing that I thought was very impressive was we had this big rally. Vice President Harris flew in and Tim Walz flew into Detroit, right?

And she took the time behind stage before the cameras were on, before she was on stage to talk with a bunch of leaders from the uncommitted movement. Not everyone chooses to do that. Certainly, on the — the Trump campaign is not looking to do that.

So I think it’s also about listening and about hearing people and letting them into the conversation. And that is something that I think this campaign is trying to do differently.

Amna Nawaz: So, as you mentioned, you’re running for an open Senate seat, but we know it’s a tough electoral map on the Senate side for Democrats this fall. What’s your predictions?

Are Democrats going to keep the majority?

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Yes, I think they are. It’s going to be a slim majority, right? But I think they’re going to — we’re going to keep the majority.

And I think it’s because people just want, like, team normal. They just want practical, reasonable people who are willing to work across the aisle and have that push and pull, as good Americans do, right? That two-party system has worked for us for a long time, but it’s out of whack right now.

And so I think people look around and they say, look, I just want the most normal thing I can get. And I think that that’s V.P. Harris and Tim Walz.

Amna Nawaz: Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin from Michigan, running for the Senate seat there, thank you so much for joining us.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin: Thank you.

Amna Nawaz: Good to see you.