In final US Senate debate, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, former Rep. MIke Rogers trade sharp barbs

In their second and final debate for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers on Monday evening traded barbs with Slotkin repeatedly saying Rogers is beholden to conservative donors and Rogers slamming Slotkin's record of supporting President Joe Biden's agenda.

"Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Rogers, a former House Intelligence Committee chairman who lives in White Lake and who served in Congress from 2001-15, asked as the hourlong debate concluded. "My opponent voted 100% with Biden-Harris (Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic presidential nominee) on all of the things that have raised your prices. ... I will go back to Washington and make that change. I will have your back."

Meanwhile, Slotkin, a three-term U.S. House member from Holly who previously served as a CIA officer in Iraq and as an acting assistant Defense Department secretary, hammered away at Rogers' record of voting against legislation to negotiate lower prescription prices and supporting resolutions that Democrats contend could have led to cuts to Social Security and Medicare a decade ago. "

Asked about her support of gun control regulations that could help reduce school shootings, Slotkin said Rogers and others who oppose restrictions "in the face of murdered children," do so "because they receive campaign donations and they're scared. They're scared because they don't want to lose their election, and it's terrible."

More: Campaign claims fly as Slotkin, Rogers take debate stage in Michigan's US Senate race

While the two practiced politicians traded some sharp comments in the debate at WXYZ-TV 7's studios in Southfield, it was mostly civil between them, just as was last Tuesday's first debate at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids. Most polling shows Slotkin with a small lead over Rogers in the race, which could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate next year.

The Nov. 5 election is three weeks from Tuesday.

Many of the questions posed by the moderators — as well as the answers from Slotkin and Rogers — tracked with those at last week's debate. Here's a quick rundown of some of the high points in the debate:

Asked about inflation, which has come down somewhat in recent months but was high during much of Biden's time in office, Rogers said he would help bring costs down by getting control of what he called "outrageous and wasteful spending" by Democrats in Congress and work to make the U.S. energy independent and cut regulations on business. Slotkin agreed that prices are too high and that the answer is to move supply chains back into the U.S., cut prescription drug costs and taxes for middle-class families and create manufacturing jobs in Michigan.

The two sparred over what Rogers and other Republicans call a "mandate" to force people to purchase electric vehicles (EVs), though there is no such requirement. Slotkin, however, said while she supports allowing consumers to purchase whatever kind of vehicles they want, it's clear that EVs are becoming more popular. "Everyone knows China is eating our lunch on these kind of vehicles. ... I want that manufacturing here. I don't care what you drive, I want to build them." Rogers argued that Slotkin has voted in support of Biden administration policies that push EVs on consumers and prefers support of gasoline- and electric-powered hybrids.

On the issue of abortion rights, which Slotkin supports, she again chided Rogers for a record of opposing abortion rights, even though he now says he would support the protections Michigan voters enshrined in the state constitution two years ago. "Don't trust him on this issue," she warned voters. Rogers again promised he would do nothing to cross the referendum passed two years ago and pivoted on the issue of women's rights by asking why Slotkin was "not protecting girls" in sports by not prohibiting transgender women in women's locker rooms. "It certainly doesn't put you on team normal," he said.

On immigration reform, Slotkin said she had proposed more legislation to stiffen enforcement at the Southern border than any member of Congress from Michigan and criticized Rogers and Republicans for walking away from a bipartisan bill that could have required even tougher enforcement, with Republican former President Donald Trump, who is the GOP nominee this year and who has endorsed Rogers, urging them to do so. Rogers called it "a terrible bill," saying it would have allowed millions more immigrants to enter the country illegally. Slotkin fired back, "If it was such a bad deal, how come folks who work here in Detroit, Port Huron and in Sault Ste. Marie who actually work on the border endorsed it? Do you know better than they do?"

There was one area in which there was some agreement: retiring student debt. Both appeared in favor of giving student loan breaks to people who committed to work as school counselors, first responders or in other needed professions. Beyond that, Slotkin argued for capping student loan rates but neither was for writing off student loan debt in a one-time fashion. "I don't think that doing debt relief all-in-one-fell-swoop for one group of young people solves the underlying problem," Slotkin said.

Slotkin went after Rogers, however, for raising questions about the fairness of elections, as he did in a recent radio interview when he talked about possible "shenanigans" the Democrats might pull. It seemed to follow up on Trump's continued false claims that he lost Michigan and other swing states to Biden in 2020 because of fraud. At the time, Rogers denounced efforts by Trump to overturn the election.

Recalling that Rogers, before leaving Congress after the 2014 election, worked in a bipartisan way, Slotkin said the new Rogers "sits next to Mister Trump as he spreads misinformation and disinformation. Our democracy has to be sacred, and I want the 2014 Mike Rogers back."

Rogers didn't take the bait.

"That 2014 Mike Rogers is absolutely here," he said. "Here's what's different. Your gas prices are up, your grocery prices are up, your energy prices are up, housing prices are up. And people are afraid not only for their kids to buy a house, but if they can stay in their house. ... This is the most consequential election I have ever seen."

Contact Todd Spangler: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Slotkin, Rogers trade sharp barbs in final US Senate debate,