‘Ruining our car industry’: Biden-Harris EV regs prove flashpoint in Michigan Senate debate

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., traded blows on electric vehicle mandates and border security during their Senate debate in the critical swing state of Michigan.

“It’s ruining our car industry,” Rogers said of mandates related to buying and producing electric vehicles (EV) during Monday’s debate, starting one of the most heated exchanges of the event. “You’re promoting Chinese technology in America.”

The two candidates in Michigan’s critical Senate race have sparred over the issue of EV mandates throughout the campaign, highlighting how critical the issue is in a state that will play a major role in deciding the presidential election and control of the federal legislature.

Rogers has attempted through two debates in the race to tie President Biden and the Democratic Party’s support for EVs to Slotkin, who has countered that her support for the technology will ensure that Michigan remains competitive in the future of auto manufacturing.

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The Michigan Senate race between Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers is more competitive than initially predicted. (Associated Press)

Rogers said Democrats such as Slotkin are “killing the car business” when it comes to promoting EVs, accusing his opponent of voting for a “mandate” on EVs “at least three times.”

While there has been no mandate that Americans must purchase EVs, the Biden administration has pressed emissions standards that could force automakers to ensure that up to two-thirds of their new vehicles sold are zero-emissions by 2032. According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, Slotkin voted against legislation that would have blocked the new standards, but has expressed openness to rewriting them if they would hurt U.S. automakers.

 “I want that manufacturing here. I don’t care what you drive, I want to build them,” Slotkin said during Monday’s debate.

Candidates blame each other for border crisis

The two candidates also attempted to cast blame on the other for the situation at the southern border, with Slotkin accusing Rogers and Republicans of a campaign to kill Biden’s border legislation before it could get through Congress.

“What’s going on at the southern border is a symptom of a broken immigration system,” Slotkin said, accusing Republicans of using the “border as a political issue than actually do the real work and get things done.”

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Rogers instead blamed Democrats on the issue, calling Biden’s legislation a “terrible bill” that would have allowed for continued legal crossings, while Slotkin questioned how Rogers could claim to know better on the issue than the national Border Patrol union, which threw its support behind the deal.

Tense exchange over abortion

The debate also highlighted the two candidates’ competing views on abortion, with Slotkin doubling down on campaign ads that have accused Rogers of supporting several pieces of anti-abortion legislation.

“He has shown us who he is, don’t trust him on this issue,” Slotkin said.

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Rogers countered by arguing that he supported leaving the question of abortion to the voters in each state, promising not to do anything in the Senate that would undo the will of voters in Michigan who voted to make abortion a right in the state.

“I won’t do anything when I go back to the United States Senate to undo the vote of the people,” Rogers said.

Candidates disagree on gun control, mental health

Another tense exchange saw the two candidates trade blows over gun reform, with Slotkin acknowledging her own history with firearms but calling for tougher legislation to “go after the number one killer of children in our communities.” 

Former President Trump campaigns with Senate candidate Mike Rogers at the Ryder Center for Health and Physical Education at Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan, Oct. 3, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

“It’s really, really easy to understand why politicians, in the face of murdered children, don’t do anything. They don’t do it because they receive campaign donations and they’re scared,” Slotkin said. “They’re scared because they don’t want to lose their election, and it’s terrible.”

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Rogers countered that the issue mostly centered on the country’s struggles with mental health, and that “banning guns isn’t going” to solve the issue.

Promises to put more money back in voters’ wallets

Inflation and the economy were another major issue during the debate, with Rogers appealing to voters to remember if they were better off under the leadership of Republicans four years ago.

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Rogers asked. “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.”

Slotkin responded by pointing to her support for bringing supply chains back to the U.S., which she argued would help bring prices down. She also hit Rogers on his lack of support for allowing the government to negotiate lower pharmaceutical prices, something she said would help alleviate the pressure on middle-class families.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin after speaking at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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The Senate race in Michigan will be one of the closely watched nationally and features one of the few tight races that could determine control of the upper chamber this election.

According to the Fox News Power Rankings, the Michigan Senate race leans in the Democrats’ favor. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Slotkin currently holds a slim 1.9 lead over her Republican opponent. 

Even so, the race has shifted significantly since Sept. 19, when Slotkin held a 5.1 advantage over Rogers in the average.

Republicans have showed optimism about the race, with Axios reporting Tuesday that the Republicans’ Senate Leadership Fund will pour another $10.5 million into Rogers’ campaign for the home stretch of the election.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.