For more on the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, tune in to CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju” this Sunday at 8 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. ET.
Warren, Michigan
CNN
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The next day, January 6, 2021, Mike Rogers spoke up.
A former Republican congressman blamed then-President Donald Trump’s “chaotic leadership style” for costing him two key seats in Georgia’s Senate. He said the “curse” surrounding Trump was broken by the storming of the Capitol, and said Trump’s actions were “clearly” a provocation. Then, a week later, discussing reports that President Trump had privately accepted some responsibility for the attack, Rogers made his position clear.
“Well, you’re absolutely right that you were responsible for this,” Rogers said of Trump on January 12, 2021.
Nearly four years later, Mr. Rogers is currently running against Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin for the prized Michigan Senate seat, but Mr. Rogers and Mr. Trump have vastly different positions, and their relationship has remained clear through phone calls. It solidified, leading to Trump endorsing Rogers in a key primary earlier this year. .
“I’m not saying he was specifically responsible” for Jan. 6, Mr. Rogers told CNN last week at a diner in his former congressional district northwest of Detroit. “Listen, even Donald Trump says I’m tough but fair. I’ll keep doing that all day long.”
Mr. Rogers downplayed his past comments, although he said he was not running away from them.
“There will always be disagreements among party members,” he said.
Mr. Rogers’ evolution against Trump underscores the former president’s enduring grip on the party and the calculations Republicans have made on their ticket to survive a polarizing presence. Virtually all of them are aligned with Mr. Trump, believing that his influence with the Republican base can overcome his burden on suburban and female voters, and that if they support Mr. Trump, they too will support him. I believe that there is a possibility that he will be able to become president by riding on the tailwind of the current situation.
Slotkin takes a different view.
“Any thoughtful, independent-minded person should either go along with Trump and salute him and do whatever he says, or else,” Slotkin said in an interview here in Swing Macomb County. “Either you can’t participate in the world of politics,” he said. “And it’s sad to see that. It’s like watching the last buffalo die.”
The Michigan seat is one of eight swing-state seats that Democrats must hold if they are to simply keep the Senate 50-50, assuming one of their few big chances for gains doesn’t materialize. There is one. And it’s also a state where Democrats are facing an unassailable challenge, with Republicans making serious inroads into rank-and-file union membership and the war in Gaza threatening to tear apart the Democratic coalition.
With both sides seeing the race as close, the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC tied to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, has spent a staggering $27 million in the final six weeks of the campaign. are. And now, Republican groups are outpacing Democrats, with AdImpact data showing they plan to spend a whopping $96 million on broadcasting this cycle, compared to $88 million.
“We’ve gotten to the point where the Nationals say, ‘We can win,’ but we’ve been telling them that for a while, so we’re glad they’re here,” Rodgers, 61, said.
Highlights of the Republican ad campaign: Mr. Slotkin voted to maintain tailpipe emissions standards and allow states to impose limits on gasoline-powered vehicles. Mr. Slotkin supported his vote, but was forced to cut back on ads saying he doesn’t drive an electric car and doesn’t believe in the mandate, which was meant to appeal to auto workers. That angered some environmentalists.
“I was very open,” Slotkin, 48, told CNN. “I don’t care what kind of car you drive. There’s no EV mandate. I don’t drive an EV. I push internal combustion engines forward. But I want to build that next generation of vehicles. .”
Another big challenge: The Arab American Political Action Committee currently has a large number of Arabs in Michigan (approximately 310,000 people, or 3% of the population), and is currently seeking support from Democratic and Republican candidates for president and the U.S. Senate. I urge you not to vote. Democrats fear it could hurt their party in a close election. Approximately 146,000 Muslim Americans voted in Michigan’s 2020 general election, according to an analysis by the group EmGage.
“Slotkin has a history,” said Osama Shiblani, a spokesman for the Arab American Political Action Committee. “Here, we judge people by their background, so we’re not going to risk voting for someone to be in government and then regret it.”
Slotkin, who is Jewish, downplayed the group’s decision, but said, “I can’t overstate how much this issue has disrupted Michigan, because it’s also a personal issue here.” ”, pointing to the large Arab, Jewish and student populations.
But some Republican groups are trying to further fuel the rift. Future Coalition PAC, a Republican-aligned group, has cut back on digital ads and mailers targeting Arab voters that included messages such as: “Kamala Harris and Elissa Slotkin have proven time and time again that they will always support Israel.”
But Mr. Slotkin, who represents a battleground district, has major vulnerabilities over Mr. Rogers’ voting record over 14 years in the House, including his past votes on abortion restrictions that are the centerpiece of the Democratic ad campaign against him. I see that there is.
But Mr. Slotkin tried to make a broader argument that things have changed since Mr. Rogers left office.
“I want the Mike Rogers of 2014 back,” Slotkin said during last week’s debate.
Asked for a response, Mr. Rogers fired back.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Mike Rogers in 2024 is worried about whether people can afford to buy a house, put gas in their car, have enough food to eat. It’s an invented campaign tactic, but let me tell you, I’m going to fight as hard for the people of Michigan as I did before 2014.”
But what has changed since 2014 is that Trump has emerged on the national stage and gained an upper hand within the Republican Party. Just earlier this month, Trump insulted the city in an economic speech in Detroit.
“If she were president, our entire country would look like Detroit,” Trump said of Harris. “We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not going to allow that.”
In an interview with CNN, Mr. Rogers defended the former president.
“What he was talking about is that there are schools that are failing and the Democrats keep saying, ‘I’m going to help you,’ year after year, so their schools are getting worse. They keep saying, ‘Crime is better,’ but if you live on the streets of Detroit, you know crime is not better,” Rogers said.
Mr. Slotkin saw it differently.
“Do you know how afraid he is of disagreeing with Donald Trump on protecting your state’s largest city?” she said. “That’s sad.”
CNN’s Haley Talbot, David Wright and Max Rego contributed to this report.
