Republicans are trying to put a Chinese-linked company at the center of Michigan’s heated battleground Senate race between former Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Rogers and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
Former President Donald Trump has even entered the fray, seeking to portray Slotkin, the Democratic nominee, as weak on China during her three terms in the House.
Slotkin's campaign has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing after a staffer signed a nondisclosure agreement related to a proposed $2.3 billion Michigan plant by Gotion, a Chinese-affiliated electric vehicle battery maker.
But in a race that could determine control of the Senate, and a state that depends on the auto industry, Rogers appears to see the issue as a political vulnerability . He has leaned heavily into opposing Gotion as a way to paint Slotkin as powerless against Chinese aggression and to preserve blue-collar jobs in the EV transition.
The open Senate seat is being vacated by longtime Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
Trump posted to Truth Social that the facility would “put Michiganders under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing” and rejected an assertion by Gotion that the presidential nominee has endorsed the manufacturing plant and other Chinese-affiliated investments.
The claim was in reference to Trump saying at a campaign rally last month in Grand Rapids that if China wants to "come in and sell us cars, they can, but they have to build plants here and they have to hire our workers, and that’s fine."
Rogers, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee endorsed by Trump, has sought to link Gotion to the Biden administration’s EV rules, which are expected to phase out gas-powered vehicles, in an appeal to voters tied to the state’s auto industry. In his latest campaign tactic on the subject, Rogers on Wednesday held a “No Gotion” rally with local residents of the proposed site near Big Rapids, roughly an hour north of Grand Rapids.
“This has all been part of their plan, and you have stood in the way of the Chinese Communist Party and Democrats trying to ruin the United States of America,” Rogers told supporters. “Let's make this election about beating Gotion.”
He and the campaign arm of Senate Republicans also unveiled a seven-figure ad buy in which he says Slotkin “pushed for EV mandates that are devastating the Michigan auto industry” and “signed a secret deal that helped a Chinese company, taking away jobs from Michigan workers.”
The Slotkin campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but her campaign previously told the Washington Examiner that the NDA allegation “has been debunked several times” and that it was a Slotkin staffer who signed an NDA with a state agency in order to discuss the proposed Gotion project. An NDA signed by Slotkin related only to discussions with semiconductor manufacturer Micron and General Motors for an EV battery plant.
Meanwhile, Democrats have attempted to chip away at Rogers's image as a China hawk by citing his past work for companies like AT&T that have ties to China. Rogers has countered the line of attack by noting his work scrutinizing Chinese telecom companies in Congress.
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The Biden administration has sought to prevent Chinese EV automakers from undercutting domestic production with sourcing requirements and 100% tariffs levied on those made in China, a penalty that can be easily circumvented if the vehicles are made elsewhere.
Slotkin, who spent time working in the intelligence community as a CIA analyst before being first elected to Congress in 2018, was also criticized over Gotion in her primary against Democratic opponent Hill Harper.
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