Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has won the race for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s retirement. Slotkin’s victory over Republican Mike Rogers, a former U.S. representative, is a crucial battleground win for the Democrats.
Slotkin held a narrow lead over Rogers for most of the race, but never by a large enough margin for analysts to consider it anything more than a toss-up. And the GOP-linked Senate Leadership Fund’s decision to drop an astonishing $27 million in the final month and a half of the race to try to take down Slotkin made it a proper nail-biter.
Slotkin hammered Rogers hard on the issue of abortion, which may have factored into her win. “Do not trust him,” Slotkin said of Rogers at an October debate, describing him as “unilaterally pro-life.” While Rogers said in the debate that he would not take steps in Washington to change Michigan’s constitutional commitment to abortion rights, Slotkin pointed out that he had made anti-abortion comments and cast anti-abortion votes in the past.
At points in the race Rogers had Slotkin on her back foot over her support for state limits on gas-powered vehicles. Slotkin released a defensive ad stating that she doesn’t drive an electric vehicle. As The Hill explained in October, Slotkin was forced to “toe a fine line — supporting investment in electric vehicles while saying she does not support a mandate that everyone drive them.”
Ultimately she was able to pull off the win and shore up Democratic power in a crucial Rust Belt state. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Zeeshan Aleem is a writer and editor for MS NOW. Previously, he worked at Vox, HuffPost and Politico, and he has also been published in, among other places, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, and The Intercept. You can sign up for his free politics newsletter by clicking the link at the top of this bio.
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