Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan speaks before U.S. President Joe Biden at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 in Howell, Michigan, Oct. 5, 2021. (Elaine Cromie/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Rep. Elissa Slotkin narrowly prevailed in her Senate race in Michigan over former Rep. Mike Rogers, making her one of two new Jewish members of the Senate and delivering a downballot victory to Democrats in a closely-watched swing state that supported Republican Donald Trump for president.
Fewer than 20,000 votes separated Slotkin, a military veteran and former CIA analyst who represented a swing district, from Rogers when the Associated Press called the race with 99% of precincts reporting. Replacing retiring Democrat Debbie Stabenow, Slotkin will enter the Senate along with fellow Jewish Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California.
During her campaign, Slotkin sought to portray herself as a pragmatist who would work across the aisle: Her ads prominently featured images of her shaking hands with Republican former President George W. Bush. She has a record of supporting Israel and accepted donations from the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, but told the state’s large population of Arab voters that her experience as an Iraq veteran gave her unique empathy and insight into their concerns.
While she didn’t emphasize her Jewish identity on the campaign trail, a GOP-backed ad campaign did: Billboards went up in heavily Muslim areas of the state picturing her and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris against the background of an Israeli flag in an effort to antagonize voters angry with U.S. support of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Slotkin tried to bridge that divide: She was the only member of Congress to sign letters backing both Michigan Jewish Attorney General Dana Nessel and Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib during a recent controversy over antisemitism and Islamophobia that pitted the two politicians against each other.
Slotkin’s win gives the Democratic caucus 44 Senate seats, to the GOP’s 52, with several races still being counted. One more Senate race featuring a Jewish candidate, Jacky Rosen’s bid for reelection in Nevada, remained too close to call as of Wednesday afternoon.
In another Senate race of interest to Jews, Republican podcaster Royce White, who has a long history of antisemitic comments and declared that “the bad guys won in World War II” during his campaign, was trounced by Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota.
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