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The debate over debates: It happens every election cycle. (So does calling it “the debate over debates.”) After a number of back-and-forths, former President Donald Trump has seemingly agreed to the ABC News debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10th. But, as we know in 2024, a lot can happen in two weeks.
Here in Michigan, we’re focused on possible debates in the marquee statewide race: the U.S. Senate race between Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers. (It’s the first open Senate seat in Michigan in a decade with the retirement of Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow.)
It’s a rare thing to not have an incumbent running and this race will absolutely help determine which party holds control of the U.S. Senate. The seat is considered a toss-up which means both Slotkin and Rogers need to get their message across to as many voters as possible… seems kinda like a debate might help with that.
Slotkin announced this week that she has accepted two debate invitations from two different media outlets. The first in Grand Rapids on October 9th and the second in Detroit on October 14th. We got in touch with the Rogers’ team to see if they, too, had agreed. In a statement, a campaign spokesman let us know that “we’re discussing the several debate proposals that we’re received, and look forward to debating Slotkin multiple times this fall, but we have not committed to a specific debate yet.” The Detroit News editorial board (which leans right) chastised the Slotkin team’s decision saying it undermines a newly-formed debate commission’s proposal from earlier this year.
So, for now, it appears, “the debate over debates” continues.
Digging deeper: The last time there was a U.S. Senate race in Michigan, voters did not see major party candidates debate. In 2020, Democratic Senator Gary Peters and his Republican challenger John James (now U.S. Representative James) didn’t debate. You have to go back to 2018 - more than half a decade ago - to the last time there was a Senate debate in Michigan.
Got questions? Or, just want to debate about debates? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
— GET CAUGHT UP —
As we previewed last week in the newsletter, Michigan Democrats and Republicans held their state conventions last weekend. The parties nominated candidates for positions that don’t appear on the primary ballot, including state Supreme Court, university governing boards and the Michigan State Board of Education. Rick was in Lansing covering the Democrats; Capitol reporter Colin Jackson was in Flint with the Republicans. Their coverage below:
MI Dems finalize ’24 ticket at state convention, fire up for November
— WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AT THE DINNER TABLE —
Whitmer’s to-do list: Propublica’s Anna Clark has this doozy, A Vexing To-Do List for Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, out this week noting, “time is running out in Whitmer’s second and final term as governor to follow through on some key campaign promises.” Michigan governors on their way out the door always leave behind unfinished business and unanticipated problems for their successors. The job is simply too big to get everything done and to be ready for every crisis. The fact that Michigan's elected government (even under one-party control) reflects the state’s diverse swing-state politics makes that an unavoidable reality for governors and legislative leaders who may or may not be with Whitmer on every issue.
RFK Jr. Yes, still: After his endorsement of Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name remains on the Michigan ballot as a presidential candidate. We’re waiting to see if RFK Jr. goes to court to try and have his name removed as the Michigan Natural Law Party candidate. There could be some bipartisan agreement on this point. The Trump campaign certainly doesn’t want to run against someone who’s endorsed the Republican nominee and a lot of Democrats would rather see a straight-up one-on-one matchup in Michigan instead of a bunch of wild cards (including independent Cornel West) muddying the waters.
Labor Day in Detroit: There’s history behind marching on Labor Day in Michigan and when Vice President Kamala Harris visits Detroit on Monday, she won’t be the first nationally-elected Democrat to do so. Her visit - and the recently announced visit to Michigan by President Joe Biden late next week - shows the power that unions are displaying more of in both politics and at the bargaining table.
Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
