U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party’s election night watch party in Detroit on Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
Democrats have extended their dominance over Republicans when it comes to Michigan’s U.S. Senate seats, as U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) just barely edged out former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) in Tuesday’s election.
The Associated Press called the race for the open seat just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, with Slotkin coming from behind as Democratic-leaning Kalamazoo and Wayne counties reported their returns, winning by an approximately 18,000 vote margin; 2,689,652 or 48.6% to Rogers’ 2,671,217 or 48.3%.
“I pledged throughout this campaign that I wouldn’t just turn up in election season and that commitment remains. I will continue to show up, to listen, to show up again when you call upon me. I will answer that call and I will act, so let me say as clearly as I can, whether you voted for me or not, you will always have an open door at my office because the truth is, there are no monopolies on good ideas,” Slotkin told supporters Wednesday afternoon.
The seat had been seen as a must-win for Democrats as they faced an uphill battle to maintain their majority in the Senate.But with the GOP winning that majority Tuesday evening, that was less the case in terms of the national implication, even though both parties fought hard at the state level.
It’s been almost a quarter-century since a Republican represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate, with now-former U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham last doing so in 2001. He lost to now-U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing), Michigan’s first female U.S. senator who is retiring at the end of her term.
Slotkin, who won Stabenow’s seat, acknowledged her predecessor’s service when she addressed supporters in Detroit early Wednesday morning.
“She is the definition of Pure Michigan. She has quite literally dedicated her life to serving the state at the local, state and federal level. She’s been in service for 50 straight years,” said Slotkin. “And as the first woman ever elected at the federal level for the state of Michigan, I owe her a huge debt of gratitude that I can never repay, and women of Michigan cannot repay. She put up with an enormous amount of crap. Enormous.”
Slotkin’s political ascent has been dizzying, as the former CIA analyst and high-ranking Defense Department official arrived in Congress just six years ago when she defeated now-former U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Rochester). She flipped a district that former President Donald Trump had won by 6 points in 2016.
“I believe in my bones that America is at its best when we have two healthy parties that push and pull and debate on issues of policy and substance and make our laws better,” said Slotkin. “That’s what our Founding Fathers intended, and it’s what…makes our country great, but we all know that’s not what we’ve had for the better part of the decade. We all know that we’re better as a state and as a country than our politics currently represent.”
Slotkin said she was heartened by the fact that the nation had been through difficult periods in its history, but had always emerged with two things: engaged citizens and principled leaders.
“Engaged citizens who step up, who do a little bit more than they’re used to doing, who care a couple more ounces than they did two weeks ago because they’re worried about their kids and their country and principled leaders, ready to receive the ball and do something about it,” she said.
Rogers, a former Army officer and FBI agent, was considered by analysts to be the GOP’s best hope to break the Democratic hold on Senate seats this year. After serving in the Michigan Senate from 1995 to 2001, he was elected to Congress in 2000 and served seven terms, during which he rose to national prominence as chair of the powerful House Intelligence Committee.
Securing Trump’s endorsement earlier this year may have been what Rogers needed to win the GOP primary, but it wasn’t enough to get him across the finish line in Tuesday’s general election.
After leaving Congress in 2015, Rogers became a cyber security adviser and businessman and later moved to Florida before the opportunity to run for Senate brought him back to Michigan, although his subsequent purchase of a home in White Lake created questions as the Advance reported in January about where he actually was living.
Those questions remained unanswered as the campaign wore on, and were still being asked with just a month to go before the election.
Andrew Roth contributed to this story.
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