Mike Rogers, Elissa Slotkin debate EVs, guns, immigration. Here are the facts

• Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers discussed immigration, healthcare, gun reform and more in Detroit-area debate
• They’re competing to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who is retiring at the end of the year
• The Michigan race is competitive and could factor into which party holds majority control in the U.S. Senate

SOUTHFIELD  — In their second and final scheduled debate before the Nov. 5 election, U.S. Senate candidates Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers made their case to Michigan voters and sought to undermine each other’s past. 

Slotkin and Rogers sparred on issues like gun reform, abortion, immigration and the economy, as well as the role electric vehicles should play in the automotive industry in the hour-long debate hosted by WXYZ-TV in metro Detroit. 

“We have a lot of differences,” said Slotkin, a Holly Democrat who has served in the U.S. House since 2019. “But the good news is we both have records.”

Rogers, a Republican who served in the House from 2001 through 2014, positioned himself as the candidate of “change” as he seeks to  flip a seat long held by Democrat Debbie Stabenow, whose pending retirement has made the race a "toss-up,” according to national experts.

Both candidates have backgrounds in national security: Slotkin previously served in the CIA, and Rogers served in both the military and FBI before chairing the House Intelligence Committee for several years. 

Monday’s debate was the second in as many weeks for Slotkin and Rogers. Find Bridge Michigan coverage of the first debate here, and read on for a deeper dive into the candidates’ latest positions and claims.

A ‘mandate’ on EVs?

Michigan’s prospective role in the auto industry’s march toward more widespread electric vehicle use was once again a point of contention between the two candidates.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the EPA set strict emission restrictions on vehicles from 2027-2032 to accelerate EV production. Rogers and other Republicans have argued the rule amounts to a mandate on electric vehicles.

Rogers on Monday argued Democrats are “killing the car business” and claimed Slotkin is lockstep with the Biden-Harris administration on electric vehicles. She "voted for the EV mandate at least three times" and recently "doubled down on her position,” he said. 

The Biden administration emissions standards are not a mandate, however. 

The rules don’t force automakers to fully transition to electric vehicles, but they will necessitate more EV sales for the industry to comply, with federal officials estimating EVs could account for up to 56% of new vehicles sold by 2032.

On the debate stage, Slotkin said “there is no EV mandate,” noting that she personally isn’t planning to purchase an electric vehicle but wants U.S. workers to be making them as more consumers choose EVs. 

“I don't care what you want to drive,” Slotkin said. 

Last month, Slotkin voted against GOP legislation that proposed to repeal the Biden administration standards. 

Republicans who claim Slotkin supports EV mandates also point to her 2023 vote against legislation that would have blocked California from enacting its own regulations to limit the sale of internal combustion vehicles. That state plans to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.

A ‘retirement age’ claim

A discussion about Social Security, healthcare and prescription drug costs grew particularly contentious, with Slotkin claiming on the debate stage that Rogers "voted to raise the retirement age."

You voted to increase the age of retirement from 65 to 67,” Slotkin told Rogers. “You did that. That's not made up.”

“The idea that someone who voted against Medicare negotiating (drug prices) somehow now is the champion of it, I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you if you think this guy's going to protect you,” she quipped.

Rogers retorted that Slotkin was distorting his positions from decades ago, telling his opponent, “you should be ashamed of yourself…I get it, you want to scare people.” 

Slotkin’s claims on the retirement age for Social Security appear to be based on a 2011 House budget bill that aimed to slash deficit spending. 

A previous fact check by PolitiFact found Slotkin's claims about the bill misleading. The budget Rogers voted for was based on a plan from then-House Speaker Paul Ryan that would have raised the age for Medicare eligibility — not Social Security — over several years.

However, the budget bill "covered broad statements of priorities rather than specific policy details," according to PolitiFact. Democratic President Barack Obama was not expected to sign the budget proposal into law, and he did not do so.

Immigration

A back-and-forth on immigration policy largely centered around a bipartisan immigration deal backed by Biden that collapsed in Congress. 

With border crossings at an all-time high from 2021 to 2023, the deal would have added more border agents, asylum officers and drug detection machines but collapsed in the U.S. Senate after former President Donald Trump and other conservatives criticized the deal. 

“What's going on at the southern border is a symptom of a broken immigration system,” Slotkin said Monday, arguing that Rogers and his Republican allies “would rather have immigration and border as a political issue than actually do the real work and get things done.”

Rogers countered that the bill was shut down “because it was a terrible bill” that would have sanctioned illegal border crossings. In response, Slotkin correctly noted a national border patrol union had endorsed the deal. 

Related: Michigan elections FAQ: Where Trump, Harris stand on immigration, border security

Migrant encounters decreased significantly this year after the Biden administration implemented new asylum restrictions, but the issue remains a focal point on the campaign trail. 

About 91,000 people were in Michigan without authorization as of 2019 — about 1.2% of the state’s population, according to the nonpartisan research firm Migration Policy Institute. In 2022, 687,000 immigrants made up 8.4% of Michigan’s employed labor force and contributed to 9.9% of the state’s economic output, an American Immigration Council report shows.

Abortion positions

As in their first debate, Slotkin once again pressured Rogers on his abortion stance, pointing to his previous support of anti-abortion initiatives: “He has shown us who he is — do not trust him on this issue.”   

Rogers countered by saying he would not vote to overturn Michigan’s voter-approved reproductive rights amendment, arguing that Slokin has “misrepresented so many of my positions on this issue.”

Rogers, who previously served in Congress, said in 1994 he only supported abortions to save the life of the mother. He later co-sponsored legislation to define human life as beginning at conception, supported a national abortion ban beginning at 20-weeks of pregnancy and in 2003 co-sponsored legislation to withdraw federal approval of the abortion-inducing medication Mifepristone. 

During his Senate campaign, Rogers has said he would not interfere with Michigan voters’ decision to add abortion rights to the state constitution, an initiative he did not vote on because he was living in Florida at the time. 

“The people of Michigan … voted to make abortion legal,” he said on the debate stage Monday. “I won't do anything when I go back to the United States Senate to undo the vote of the people.”

Slotkin has maintained steady support for abortion-related policies, including legislation that establishes a right for health care providers to provide abortion, bars individuals from interfering with a person’s ability to access an out-of-state abortion and bans any form of government from restricting access to abortion. 

A ‘reading reclamation’ and Betsy DeVos

The candidates also touched on educational issues Monday, with Rogers touting support for “reading reclamation” programs to get more kids reading at grade level by third grade and Slotkin calling for fully funding schools and offering equal access to education regardless of where a child lives. 

Slotkin said she is a “believer in public education” and criticized Rogers’ connection to the former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy Devos, a West Michigan Republican who has long backed school choice efforts. 

The DeVos family are longtime donors to Rogers. As he runs for Senate, Betsy DeVos and fellow family members have contributed a combined $46,200 to Rogers' campaign committee, according to federal records.

Rogers said he wasn’t sure “how that has anything to do with us trying to improve education for our kids.” 

Gun reforms, mental health

Slotkin and Rogers sharply diverged when asked about gun violence.

Guns are a part of Michigan culture, Slotkin argued, pointing to her own history of her dad teaching her to shoot and carrying a firearm overseas. But she said gun owners and non-gun owners alike have to “go after the number one killer of children in our communities.” 

Slotkin has proposed a national safe storage law that could mean jail time for adults who fail to stop children from accessing their firearms. In 2022, she voted for legislation that would have created a federal assault weapons ban for the first time since 2004.

Rogers laid much of the blame for gun violence on mental health issues, arguing that “banning guns isn’t going to do it.” 

He criticized recent cuts to school resource and mental health funds approved in the Michigan Legislature and said he was supportive of alternative deterrents to violence in schools.

Slotkin argued Rogers opposes gun safety legislation because of political donations from the gun lobby, which she said gave him a “100% rating.”

She suggested he was “off in Florida,” where he had retired from Congress, while she was dealing with the aftermaths of two school shootings in her district: one at Oxford High School and one at Michigan State University. 

The National Rifle Association's political fund has endorsed Rogers and given him an "A" grade on pro-gun policies. 

It's not immediately clear what donations Slotkin was referring to, however. It appears the NRA last donated to Rogers in 2010 and has significantly curtailed its political spending this year amid financial hardships.