Democrats Retain Michigan Senate Seat

U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) speaks to supporters at her watch party during the early-morning hours at the MotorCity Casino in Detroit, Mich., on Nov. 6, 2024. Scott Olson/Getty Images

DETROIT—Michigan’s Senate delegation remains solid blue as Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) defeated Republican Mike Rogers to claim the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

The race was called on Nov. 6 at 3:12 p.m. ET. Slotkin’s win shores up the Democrats’ minority in the chamber after Republicans gained control of the Senate on Tuesday night. As of press time, Republicans had won 52 Senate seats to the Democrats’ 44, with four seats too close to call.

Rogers, a former seven-term congressman, had narrowed Slotkin’s lead in the polls to as little as four points but was unable to close the gap on Election Day.

No Michigan Republican has won election to the Senate since 1996, and only two have served in the upper house since the 1950s.

Slotkin, 48, has represented Michigan in Congress since 2018, first serving in the Eighth District and then in the Seventh District after redistricting.

Educated at Cornell University and the Columbia University School of Public Affairs, Slotkin was recruited by the CIA as a Middle East analyst.

Within a year, she was sent to Iraq, where she was a team leader. She later served at the Department of State and as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Her nearly 15 years in government service spanned the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Slotkin outspent Rogers by a factor of four, according to the most recent data from the Federal Election Commission. She had spent $15.3 million by July 17 compared to Rogers’s $2.9 million. Slotkin had $8.7 million on hand compared with $2.5 million for Rogers.

Spending on this race by groups not controlled by the candidates has totaled $42.9 million for Slotkin and $40.3 million for Rogers, according to Open Secrets.

Slotkin campaigned heavily on abortion access and ran ads criticizing Rogers for his position on the issue in a candidate questionnaire from 2000. The messaging appeared to gain traction despite Rogers’s assurances that he would not work to overturn Michigan’s constitutional guarantee of access to abortion.

Rogers was hampered by accusations that he lived at a different address from where he was registered to vote. On Oct. 15, he told reporters that the situation stemmed from a rebuilding project underway at the home where he is registered to vote and pays taxes.

As Election Day neared, both sides focused on getting out the vote. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said the race would likely come down to voter turnout.

“Elissa leads, but nobody can take that for granted,” Dingell told The Epoch Times on Oct. 10.

Rep. Lisa McLain (R-Mich.), campaigning for Rogers, urged Michiganders to vote early.

“We just have to understand the importance of getting out to vote,” she told The Epoch Times.