Detroit ― Newly minted U.S. Senate nominees Mike Rogers and Elissa Slotkin have been formally invited to participate in three debates around Michigan this fall organized by the new Michigan Debate Task Force ahead of the November general election.
Both candidates' campaigns received letters last evening after Slotkin of Holly clinched the Democratic nomination by about 53 percentage points over actor Hill Harper, and Rogers of Brighton was victorious in the GOP contest with about 63% of the vote over his opponents.
“We’ll do all three, absolutely," Rogers told The Detroit News on Wednesday morning at an event with GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance in Shelby Township. "We’ll hope to do more."
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Rogers spokesman Chris Gustafson said Wednesday afternoon the campaign was reviewing the debate proposals and "look forward to debating Slotkin to hold her accountable for raising grocery prices, allowing a border crisis to endanger Michigan families, and her efforts to ban gas cars."
Slotkin's campaign didn't immediately comment on the debate invitations Wednesday, though in her election night remarks the three-term congresswoman did express a desire to debate Rogers, who served seven terms in Congress.
"Let me just say very clearly, I'm looking forward to debating Mr. Rogers in this race, holding him accountable, and I hope he's going to meet me on the debate stage," Slotkin said.
The task force is comprised of universities, Chambers of Commerce and the Urban Leagues of Detroit and west Michigan, among others. The debates planned are:
∎ Sept. 12 in the studios of WXMI-TV (Fox 17) in Grand Rapids, with the host committee including the Grand Rapids Chamber, Grand Valley State University, the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan and the Urban League of West Michigan;
∎ Oct. 10 in the Milliken Auditorium at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City with the host committee of the Economic Club of Traverse City, the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance and Northwestern Michigan College; and
∎ Oct. 22 at the Sound Board theater in the Motor City Casino in Detroit with the host committee featuring the Detroit Economic Club, Oakland University and the Urban League of Detroit and Southeast Michigan.
The debates are timed so that the first occurs before absentee ballots are mailed out, the second before nine days of in-person early voting begins and the last two weeks before Election Day on Nov. 5.
The group is working with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters with the intent of distributing a feed of all three debates statewide and making it available to news outlets in any media market that would like to air or stream them, said Dave Dulio, the director of the Center for Civic Engagementat Oakland University, who is helping coordinate the task force.
"It’s really all about getting the information in the hands of voters," Dulio said.
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Part of the intent behind the task force's proposal earlier this year was to shift the control of debate rules, timing and formats away from political campaigns ― which tend to prefer more controlled environments and fewer debates ― and into the hands of a neutral entity in Michigan that will prioritize higher quality information being disseminated to the broader public, organizers have said.
The task force also saw a prime opportunity in a tossup Senate race for an open statewide seat, where no incumbent could try to steer away from debating their opponents. The Senate seat is up for grabs because long-time U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, is retiring.
“We want to frankly take control of these out of the hands of the candidates and really focus on the public good, the provision of information in a way that is unfiltered and unproduced,” Dulio said.
“I don’t blame the campaigns for trying to (control how many debates, when they’re going to be and the rules they’ll have to abide by, because they’ll make those decisions in their best interest. …But their best interest isn’t always in the public’s best interest.”
Dulio offered the example of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's decision in 2022 not to debate GOP nominee Tudor Dixon until after absentee ballots were mailed out. "That worked for her but it wasn't best case for the voters," Dulio said.
The task force set up a website, www.MichiganDebates.org, where Michigan residents may submit questions or issues they'd like to hear discussed during the debates. All candidates who appear on the general election ballot and meet a set of criteria will receive invitations to participate in the debates.
The criteria include polling at 5% or higher in two public and independent statewide polls during the month prior to the debate.
mburke@detroitnews.com
