Elissa Slotkin, Mike Rogers Win Michigan Senate Primaries

Rep. Elissa Slotkin at an event in East Lansing, Michigan, on November 1, 2022. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Michiganders have taken a big step toward choosing their new senator after Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and former Congressman Mike Rogers won their respective primaries for the U.S. Senate on August 6.

Slotkin handily defeated her only opponent, actor Hill Harper. In the Republican primary, Rogers emerged victorious after beating both Justin Amash, another former congressman, and physician Sherry O’Donnell.

The Associated Press called both races at 9 p.m.

“I’m thrilled to officially be your Democratic Nominee for Senate,” Slotkin wrote on X soon afterwards.

Sandy Pensler, another Republican hopeful, dropped out in July and threw his support behind Rogers.

Now comes the slog to November’s general election.

The seat, currently occupied by longtime Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), opened up during a challenging cycle for Democrats. Most of the 33 seats being contested in regular elections belong to Democrats or independents who caucus with Democrats. Republicans are just two seats away from taking the chamber.

Slotkin, who has served as the representative from Michigan’s Seventh District since 2019, already has a much larger war chest than Rogers. Federal campaign finance documents show she has raised more than $24 million thus far and still has $8.7 million cash on hand. Rogers, by contrast, has raised $5.3 million. He has just under $2.5 million in cash reserves.

The Senate contest in Michigan is all the more significant because of the state’s importance as a presidential battleground. The Republican and Democrat nominees, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, are close in the latest polls from the Wolverine State.

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), will visit Michigan on August 7. Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, will campaign there the same day.

“The moment this race is called tomorrow night, the Republican nominee will receive a flood of contributions from National and MAGA-Republicans who know this race will determine control of the United States Senate,” Slotkin wrote in an Aug. 5 social media platform X.

In the run-up to the August 6 election, Rogers participated in a roundtable with former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos along with swimmer Riley Gaines, an activist who opposes the participation of biological males in women’s sports.

“In the Senate, I’ll always fight for our daughters and granddaughters,” Rogers wrote on X in a post discussing that roundtable.

The Senate primaries came alongside other primary races across Michigan. Missouri and Washington also held primaries on August 6.

Outside a polling place in Vicksburg, Mich., Brian Rucker told The Epoch Times he voted for Slotkin.

“I’m a Democrat all the way,” he said when asked if recent movements in the stock market had altered his thinking ahead of the election.

Jim Cheesebro, who took the Republican ballot at a polling place in nearby Portage, told The Epoch Times he hoped that Slotkin’s fundraising lead wouldn’t scare voters away from a Republican alternative.

“More money doesn’t mean a better candidate to me. More money doesn’t buy my vote,” he said.