Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Rep. Elissa Slotkin speaks during an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat who has represented Michigan’s 7th Congressional District since 2019, has defeated former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers to become Michigan’s next senator. The Associated Press called the race for Slotkin on Wednesday at 3:12 p.m. EST.

A product of the post-Trump moment, Slotkin was one of the many women to come into federal office following the fallout of 2016. Rogers, on the other hand, is a bit of an outlier in the modern GOP, having achieved influence during the Bush and Obama years. However, both candidates had backgrounds at the federal level, with Slotkin getting her bearings as an analyst for the CIA and Rogers a longtime FBI agent prior to serving in Congress. 

Slotkin ran as a moderate, a mantle she has worn with pride throughout her political career. She even went so far as to flex her down-to-earth bromides by taking a swipe at electric vehicles. 

“I live on a dirt road, nowhere near a charging station. So, I don’t own an electric car. No one should tell us what to buy, and no one is going to mandate anything,” Slotkin said in a recent political ad. “But if there’s going to be a new generation of vehicles, I want that generation built right here in Michigan, not China. 

Meanwhile, Rogers was forced to reverse criticisms he made of former President Donald Trump following the riot at the Capitol on January 6th. “Well, you’re damn right you had responsibility for this,” Rogers said of Trump almost a week after the insurrection. 

But after Rogers successfully secured the Republican nomination, his position on Trump shifted. 

“Well, I didn’t say he was clearly responsible,” Rogers later explained in a CNN interview. “Listen, even Donald Trump said I was tough, but fair. I’ll take that all day long … We’re going to have differences amongst our party members all the time.”