WASHINGTON ― A national Republican group is spending $10.5 million more to help former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan’s toss-up Senate contest with Democrat Elissa Slotkin, with three weeks to go until Election Day.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super political action committee affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, announced the spending Tuesday morning. It’s the group’s second infusion of cash into Michigan race this election cycle.
“Michigan is competitive,” SLF President and CEO Steven Law said in a statement. “Michiganders don’t like that Elissa Slotkin has consistently voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ green energy agenda. These voters are looking for a change from the Democrat status quo.”
The announcement came the morning after Rogers and Slotkin met in Southfield for their second and final debate and sparred on everything from guns and abortion to electric vehicle incentives. The match-up was hostile at times, with each candidate accusing the other of lying about and misrepresenting their positions.
The SLF spending was accompanied by the release Tuesday of another attack ad by the super PAC that hits Slotkin as bad for Michigan auto workers (she is endorsed by the United Auto Workers union). “Don’t believe a word she says,” the ad narrator warns.
The new spending is on top of $22.5 million that SLF committed to the Michigan contest two weeks ago, for a total $33 million for the cycle. Overall, outside groups have spent an estimated $87 million on the Senate race so far, with millions more in airtime reserved through Nov. 5.
SLF’s counterpart, Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, had about $9.5 million in future ad reservations in Michigan as of Tuesday morning. The political advertisement tracking firm AdImpact said late Sunday that GOP groups had about $17.8 million in ad reservations in the Michigan Senate race and Democratic groups had $14.4 million.
The SLF spending is certainly a boost for Rogers, a former seven-term congressman from White Lake Township who has been vastly outraised by three-term U.S. Rep. Slotkin of Holly, the Democratic nominee.
Slotkin pulled in an eye-popping $18 million last quarter to Rogers’ $4.5 million, according to the campaigns. That brings Slotkin’s total for the cycle to about $42 million and Rogers’ to about $10 million. Campaign finance reports with updated cash on hand totals are due by midnight.
The congresswoman has raised more cash than any Senate candidate in Michigan history at this point in the race. By comparison, in the 2020 Senate race in Michigan, Democratic U.S. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township had raised $35.7 million at this point in the cycle and Republican challenger John James of Farmington Hills had raised $33.9 million.
Slotkin’s campaign has spent more than $12 million on ads so far this cycle, while Rogers has split advertising costs with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and has spent roughly $3.7 million.
The SLF ad takes aim at Slotkin’s “no” vote last year on a bill that would block states including California from banning gas-powered vehicles. Slotkin has defended that vote, saying former President Donald Trump is making electric vehicles “his new ‘woke’ culture war.”
In the Senate debate Monday, Slotkin said she doesn’t care what kind of car voters drive but declared the U.S. should not cede the EV market to China, as former President Donald Trump has suggested.
“If the fundamental question is ‘who do we want to make that next generation of vehicles,’ you better believe I want that to be Michigan, not China,” Slotkin said. “Everyone knows China is eating our lunch on these kind of vehicles.”
Another pro-Rogers super PAC, Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, said last week it would spend another $1.6 million on a new, positive ad about Rogers that doesn’t mention Slotkin. The buy brings the super PAC’s total spending for the year to about $17 million.
The 30-second spot is in contrast to most other super PAC ads on the air that focus on attacking Slotkin. It also mentions Rogers grew up in Michigan after several news articles examining residency questions in recent weeks.
Party committees and super PACs have also been spending on Slotkin’s behalf in the race, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($10.6 million) and the pro-crypto Protect Progress ($9.3 million). The NRSC, which backs Rogers, has spent about $10.5 million.
Michigan’s Senate seat is open because longtime U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, is retiring.
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