MICHIGAN — Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) are facing off in the U.S. Senate race to replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
FOX 17 will air a debate between Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers on October 14 at 7 p.m. The live televised commercial-free debate will be produced by Scripps News Detroit and moderated by Editorial Director Chuck Stokes, Scripps News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford, and Scripps News Detroit Anchor Alicia Smith.
Here's a quick background breakdown of both candidates and their journey into politics:
Mike Rogers
According to Rogers' bio on his campaign website, Rogers was born and raised in Livingston County. He graduated from Howell High School and then Adrian College.
After college, he served in the U.S. Army and after serving, worked as a special agent with the FBI in its Chicago office where he said he worked to take down organized crime and public corruption.
Rogers then ran for public office, winning the 1994 race for State Senator. He served two terms in the Michigan State Senate from 1995 until 2001.
In 2000, he ran for U.S. Congress in Michigan's 8th District, replacing Stabenow. Rogers beat Democrat Dianne Byrum by 111 votes to win the race.
He served in Congress until 2015 and in his final two terms, he was the chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
After his time in Congress, he went into the private sector.
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Elissa Slotkin
Slotkin grew up in Holly and according to her campaign page, she's a third-generation Michigander who spent time on her family farm in Holly. She went to Cranbrook, according to a 2018 article, and then went on to Cornell and Columbia University.
She said that after being in New York City on 9/11, she wanted to go into national security, and was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency.
During her time in the CIA, she worked in the George W. Bush administration and had three tours in Iraq with the U.S. military.
After her time in the military, Slotkin worked in the Department of Defense starting in 2011. She worked her way up to be the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.
In 2017, Slotkin announced she was running for Congress and beat incumbent Mike Bishop. Slotkin received more than 50% of the vote compared to Bishop's 46.7%.
She has served on the House Agriculture Committee and House Armed Services Committee during her three terms in Congress.
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