Michigan's U.S. Senate candidates debate at Mackinac Policy Conference

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Center for Civic Engagement, Oakland University, Dave Dulio, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Economic Club, Steve Gregorian.

[00:00:18]Good afternoon. I'm Steve. This is Dave.

[00:00:22]And what a terrific conference. I want to congratulate Sandy, Bob, and the entire chamber team. Give them a round of applause. This is terrific. Thank you. [applause] Dave and I are excited to tell you about the Michigan Debate Commission. The commission consists of nearly two dozen statewide organizations, including business, civic, education, and media entities. This includes, of course, the Detroit Economic Club and Oakland University.

[00:00:55]In the last 20 years, debates in our state are happening less frequently. In Michigan, unlike other states, there is no entity that decides debates. Instead, any that do occur are dependent on campaigns agreeing to quantity, format, rules, and location. Well, in most cases, good luck with that.

[00:01:26]Our commission will plan, produce, and schedule debates, including rules and format. Look, debates are critical opportunities to assess decision making, substantive vision, and stability. We believe voters should not be making decisions based on 30 secondond ads or Instagram reels. that just doesn't cut it today. We can and we will do better.

[00:01:56]Dave, >> thanks. Steve, debates are an important element of campaigns. Anybody who says debates don't matter anymore is forgetting what happened on the debate stage in the 2024 presidential election when Joe Biden's re-election campaign uh disappeared before our eyes. They're also forgetting uh Rick Perry's oops moment in 2011 when his GOP primary aspirations went up in flames on Oakland University's campus. By the way, unfortunately, as Steve said, voters have seen and and by the way, the commission's goal is not viral moments.

[00:02:35]It's substance, which we are going to see this afternoon. Voters have seen simply fewer of these uh events in recent years. In 2022 and 2024, respectively, there were only two gubanatorial and US Senate debates. Both of them each time after absentee ballots had been sent out and started to be returned. This year, the commission will host debates for the offices of governor and US Senate throughout the fall campaign before absentee ballots are sent out. Um, there'll be at least one.

[00:03:09]We expect the candidates to be there.

[00:03:11]The voters deserve it. If your organization would like to be a part of our efforts to create more frequent, more substantive debates between those seeking to be our state's leaders, we'd love to have you join the commission.

[00:03:23]Just find Steve or me later today or hit us up via email. Thanks again for the opportunity to tell you about the commission. And now on with the show.

[00:03:33][applause] Please welcome the editorial page editor for the Detroit News and contributor for Detroit PBS's One Detroit, Nolan Finley, an executive adviser at Rich Detroit and host of Detroit PBS, Steven Henderson.

[00:04:03]Good afternoon, Meno, and welcome to the 2026 US Senate Democratic Candidates Debate, where each of our candidates is going to make their case to Michigan voters ahead of the August primary election. This is an really important moment for Michiganders. It's where you're going to hear directly from the candidates about the issues, their priorities, and the challenges we face as a state, all shaping up uh as we get closer to August. Up first, we are going to bring out our candidates.

[00:04:40]>> And before we do that, we want to recognize the man they're all seeking to replace, our own Senator Gary Peters, who's here, [applause] and his wife Colleen.

[00:04:52]>> [applause] >> Now, let's bring out the stars of the show. Please welcome Abdul Elsa, Haley Stevens, [applause] and Mario and Mallerie McMar. [applause] Thank you candidates.

[00:05:18]Okay, before we get started, uh we want to explain a little about how this debate will work. And I'll say upfront, it's going to look a little different than debates you have seen us do in the past. This debate is going to consist of five different rounds, each beginning with a question from a journalist that will be directed to all three candidates. Each candidate will have one minute to respond to that question. The order of responses will rotate throughout the debate to ensure that there is fairness fairness among all the participants. After all three candidates have answered a question, we're going to open up the floor for an additional sixinute discussion allowing candidates to engage in a moderated discussion led by Nolan and I, the moderators. Now, the candidates have been asked to keep their responses focused and respectful and to avoid interrupting while another candidate is speaking. Nolan and I will make sure that uh you can hear from each of them uh uninterrupted during these segments. Time limits are going to be enforced throughout the debate.

[00:06:30]Candidates will see a visible countdown clock for their one minute responses.

[00:06:36]And if a candidate exceeds their allotted time, we may step in to stop them. At the conclusion of the debate, each candidate will deliver a one minute closing statement. All right, so let's get to it. Joining us for our first question is Jason Coloulthorp. He is an anchor and reporter and the host of Flashoint on WD WDIV TV Local 4 in Detroit.

[00:07:05]>> [laughter] [clears throat] >> I'll be leaving the stage. [laughter] >> Well, thank you. How's everybody? Good afternoon.

[00:07:13]>> Afternoon.

[00:07:14]>> Uh candidates, it's good to see you. Let me ask you this. This question is on the economy. Americans face the twin crisis of affordability and inflation in nearly every aspect of their economic lives.

[00:07:26]Housing, food, gas prices, higher education. And that's coupled with the per capita income in Michigan that's now fallen from 16 16th to 40th nationally over the last 25 years. Classic Democratic politics tend to favor ideas and solutions like heavy government investment, tax increases for the wealthy, and increased regulation for corporations. But if you're elected, you will most likely be in a divided Senate where you have to strike compromises with opposing ideas if you want to get anything done for Michiganers. So the question is where will you stand firm and where will you give ground? What kind of trade-offs are you willing to make as our next US senator to bring the cost of living to a more affordable level >> for this round? Mallerie, you are going first.

[00:08:14]>> Thank you Jason and thank you everybody for being here. We are in a critical moment and I don't want to lose sight of the stakes here because on the other side you've got Donald Trump's handpicked candidate in Mike Rogers. Gas is hovering around $5 a gallon. The idea of the American dream is wasting away from us. And I am really proud, Jason, to your point, of having worked across the aisle. We are in my colleague, Senator John Deus's district, and I have worked with him on a 10-year economic development strategy that would expand local small businesses, grow our economy from the ground up, keep our young people here. We've also expanded registered apprenticeships in Michigan into advanced manufacturing into healthcare into tech into agriculture to give people the ability to build something entirely new. But where I will draw the line is anything that hurts our people. Just this week, I introduced two policies related to AI. AI and jobs and AI safety. This is a technology that is happening faster than we're prepared for and policy makers can't afford to wait.

[00:09:18]Next response goes to Haley Stevens.

[00:09:21]>> Michigan has been paying the price because of chaotic, erratic tariffs coming down from an administration that is completely out of touch with who we are. Instead of going after China, uh the president started a trade war with Canada. Here in the Upper Peninsula, we've paid a significant price as Michiganers. Small business revenues are down 40% and across the state they are down 20%. Michiganders like the gal who goes to my uh exercise gym told me that she's driving less to save gas money so she can make it to her job because of an illegal war that this president started that we are all paying for. He is out of touch. And what I want to do is continue to work on bipartisan solutions like the Chips and Science Act that I proudly played a lead role in passing that created Michigan jobs, lessening our dependence on China and creating growth right here in Michigan.

[00:10:28]>> Last response goes to Abdul El Say.

[00:10:31]>> Thank you so much for the question, Jason. Look, I just got to be clear.

[00:10:34]We're here at Meno Island. Just a couple steps away, you've got the porch where corporate lobbyists are cutting deals with corporate back politicians to figure out how to pick as much meat off the bones of Michigan as possible.

[00:10:45]You're right. I want to tax billionaires their wealth. You are right. I want to stand with unions. And you are absolutely right that I think we should be enforcing antitrust policy that allows big corporations to collude together to raise our prices. And the thing about it is this. The conversation that needs to be had isn't just the one that we have with the 99 other senators or the folks in Congress or even a president. It's the conversation we have with the 350 million people who elect all of us. And I think we have an opportunity to actually find like-minded opportunities with Republicans who understand that their people too are getting picked apart. I've been to 96 cities now and no matter where I go, people say the same thing. It just shouldn't be this hard. And the reason it's this hard is because you've got two establishments, one on the right, one on the left, who play the same game. And that game has to be opposed by going right to the people and bringing our democracy back.

[00:11:36][applause] >> We we've not heard a whole lot about uh debt deficit during this campaign season. Both are mounting. Both threaten to derail the country at some point.

[00:11:49][clears throat] Uh, want to ask you, does America have a spending problem or a revenue problem?

[00:11:55]Starting with you, um, uh, Mallerie McMoral.

[00:11:58]>> Thank you very much. You know, I'm proud to be endorsed by four US senators in my run here. Peter Welch, Martin Heinrich, Elizabeth Warren, and Chris Murphy. And Peter Welch is somebody who similarly came out of a state legislature here in Michigan. I know many of my legislative colleagues are here. We have to pass a balanced budget. We do it on time. We do it on a bipartisan basis. We know how to spend within our means because there are no other options. That is experience that we desperately need in Washington to learn how to spend within our means, not to slash and burn through doge, not to be firing career civil servants and replacing them with AI, but doing so responsibly so that we can go back to the next generation, frankly, my daughter Noah, and know that she is not going to bear the brunt of the bill when it finally comes due. But what does responsibility look like? Uh what do you cut and where?

[00:12:52]>> Responsibility means going through every single budget line by line from start to finish. Let's stop just starting with the number that's before us and ask what do we actually need to do to deliver?

[00:13:03]What do we actually need to do to provide healthcare? What do we actually need to do to protect our men and women serving abroad? And start from the goal and work back to what that budget should be. That's what we do every single year.

[00:13:14]No, let me let me jump in here because I I think it is important for us to recognize that so long as we continue to play the same corporate game, we're going to get the same corporate prizes.

[00:13:22]And I'm the only candidate on the stage who has never taken a dime from a corporation to run a campaign and never will. And now here's the question. I knew you would ask a question about deficits because at the end of the day, every single time we have a Republican administration, they run up the deficit doing two things. The revenue issue, which is they cut taxes on billionaires, and then there's the spending issue, which is we fight stupid wars. We have no business fighting. But all of that goes back to one thing. The power of very rich people to buy off politicians to do their bidding. Whether it is a weapons manufacturer, whether it is a special interest, or whether it is billionaires who recognize that they can write tax code so they got loopholes they don't have to pay.

[00:14:01]>> Thanks, Mr. Elad.

[00:14:03]>> Nolan, we got to be growing the economy.

[00:14:05]The Michiganers who I speak to want the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow here. Look, we are one of five states left in this country whose central economy drives through the industrial manufacturing sector. We need proven effective industrial policy like what we did with the CHIPS act that paid for itself four times over in the first quarter of it being signed. I was proud to be there in a bipartisan way getting that done. When we grow our economy, we can pay off our debt. I cannot as the next senator for Michigan stand by and watch the hardworking Michigander pay off our debt. It has to come from growth and it has to come from the effective utilization of the taxpayer dollar.

[00:14:56]Look, I am talking about this repeatedly and that is where we need to go and it is frankly as someone who has passed federal budgets and been a part of federal spending efforts that have reinvested here in Michigan. Look, I'll talk about it till I'm blue in the face because this is Michiganders taxpayer money. I have stood up to the utility companies. Okay, he wants a word in. I get it. I get it.

[00:15:20]>> Hold on a sec. Go industrial policy.

[00:15:22]>> They said they're trying a new format.

[00:15:23]You know, we talking policy.

[00:15:26]>> Yeah. Go. So, so here here's a more pointed question. Uh Abdul, you have said you want to tax billionaires.

[00:15:33]>> Absolutely.

[00:15:34]>> Is there a limit though to how much you can do that and actually grow the economy uh versus stilting uh enterprise and and things like that? How do you draw that line?

[00:15:46]>> Do we really think that excess money to billionaires makes jobs? Because if we really think that, then we've been trying it for a very long time, and I don't see that many more jobs. To me, I'd like to tax in the wealth so we invest in the things that actually unlock human capital, like healthcare and good schools and functional infrastructure. If we think that billionaires make jobs with their money, I think we are going to continue to find ourselves in an economy where it's hard to make that first 100,000 and way easier to make that next billion. And I don't want to live in that economy. I want to go to good schools.

[00:16:14]>> What does a fair share tax rate look like?

[00:16:17]>> What's the number? I would like to see us tax billionaires at 7% of their wealth. Because here's the thing, you tax a billionaire seven, eight percent, you know what they still are, Nolan?

[00:16:27]Still a billionaire. Kids, kids, kids, kids, kids are going to be rich. I think our kids get to go to the school. I'm going to give the last look, Michigan has the opportunity to lead here. Just this week, I held a hearing on legislation called the No Reverse Robin Hood Act. Michigan has spent more than $2.5 billion on incentives to companies since 2019. And so far that fund, the soore fund, has created zero jobs. The jobs that would be created pay an average salary of somewhere around $13.

[00:16:56]That is not going to get people out of the hole. That's not going to pay for debt. What our legislation would do would say that if taxpayer dollars, our dollars, are going to support a company to create jobs, they should be required to do exactly that, not turn around and execute stock buybacks, putting money back into the pockets of their shareholders. Thank you. How about we just don't subsidize in the first place at all.

[00:17:18]>> And look at there. We ended the first segment right on time. Good job.

[00:17:22]>> Good job.

[00:17:23]>> Okay, >> so now [laughter] >> let's go to our next segment on foreign policy and bring to the stage Nancy Caffer, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press.

[00:17:38]>> Oh, [applause] there there you go.

[00:17:40]>> Take that, Jason. [laughter] So, thank you all so much for being here today. Debates do matter. Um, as Nolan said, this question is on foreign policy. A critical issue in American foreign policy is the tension between military power and diplomacy and when to use each. The United States is giving direct military support in a number of foreign theaters, the Middle East and Ukraine for instance, but also has diplomatic struggles in our own hemisphere and Western Europe. So now give us a sense of what would guide your votes on questions about direct use of our military abroad and how you'd balance that against the need for diplomatic approaches in critical foreign tensions.

[00:18:26]>> First response goes to Haley Stevens this time.

[00:18:28]>> Well, look, as someone who has a foreign policy record, let me say this. It has been absolutely harmful and ridiculous that this administration has completely obliterated US aid, an agency dedicated to humanitarian efforts abroad. This is something that I proudly supported to obliterate and uh work to alleviate uh medical conditions abroad to promote peace abroad. Peace is always has to be the long-term goal. We need to see the United States work with our allies to achieve lasting peace uh between Russia and Ukraine, between the people of Israel and Palestine and of course between China and Taiwan. But when you remove the tools from our toolkit, you fail this country and you fail us to allow us to work alongside our allies.

[00:19:28]>> Next, Abdul Al. Let me tell you what absolutely would not shape my pers per p per p per p per p per p per p per p per p per p per p per pception. It's Apac money which is being spent already in this race to pump up one of my colleagues on this stage. I'm the only candidate who didn't ask Apac for their support. I don't think that our taxpayer dollars, which we pay every April, ought to be going to bomb children to fund bombs and tanks for other countries when we got kids who can't afford basic things in our own. I believe in international law. I believe we ought to be the chief among equals in upholding international law. And I believe that international law ought to guide how we engage with our allies and our opponents both. And right now we've got a situation in which we have been a chief opposition to international law. So when it comes to a situation like Ukraine where you have a wouldbe dictator or a current dictator who wants to be a dictator of yet more land and violates the sovereignty of a foreign nation in their neighbor. I believe that that is justifiable intervention. In the case of Israel, the case of Egypt who get our dollars, I don't believe that that's where our money should go.

[00:20:32]>> Last response goes to Mallalerie Memorial.

[00:20:34]>> Let's be very clear about the stakes here. Donald Trump on an Easter brunch Sunday told Americans that he needs $1.5 trillion to carry out his war in Iran while telling us that we can't afford, we can't afford Medicare, we can't afford Medicaid. and he went further to say that states should tax their people more to pay for those selfish things.

[00:20:59]Now, Mike Rogers is in a tough position here because he is facing a reality where every Republican who has stood up to Donald Trump has now been challenged, has now lost their reelection, and he is going to have to choose. Is he loyal to Michiganders, or is he loyal to Donald Trump? We cannot lose sight of November here. The Republicans are spending tens of millions of dollars in this state for Rogers because they know the path to Democrats flipping control of the Senate runs through Michigan. And there's a lot of agreement here on stage that we must end wars, not start them. We must keep money at home. And the best way to do that is to defeat Mike Rogers and No.

[00:21:36]>> Thank you.

[00:21:38][applause] >> Okay. Uh we want to start with this idea. candidates always have supporters and many of those supporters give them money. I want to get a sense from each of you of how you how you figure that into your decision-m. Somebody supports you, somebody supports your campaign.

[00:22:01]How do you decide how much influence they have over what you do, how you cast your vote? Uh do you do you have to temper that against your own beliefs?

[00:22:11]What's the process that you go through there? Haley Stevens, you take money from Apac. Walk us through what that money means and what it buys and maybe what it doesn't.

[00:22:24]>> Well, look, my campaign for US Senate uh for Michigan is a love letter to our state. And I am deeply proud to have grassroots support coming from grocery clerk workers to uh retired teachers to factory workers and the the like. I'm also deeply honored to have the support of uh former Governor Jennifer Granhomem, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, and Debbie Stabinau standing alongside me. Individuals who fight for Michigan and win for Michigan, which is absolutely what I want to do as Michigan's next US senator. Look, Michiganders are frustrated because we have not done comprehensive campaign finance reform. Mike Rogers will not vote for comprehensive campaign finance reform like I have in the House of Representatives. We squarely need to put people at the front of our agenda.

[00:23:24]Campaigns are about movements of ideas, Stephen. The campaigns are about movements of ideas and I articulate positions of freedom and democracy and uh what Michigan needs to succeed at the global stage and national and you're also just not answering the question.

[00:23:40]>> Go ahead.

[00:23:42]>> Look, at the end of the day, it also buys $3.5 billion sent to a foreign military that could be used here to give glasses here to provide healthcare here to build schools here. That's where our money should be used. And look, people know me. I say the same thing everywhere. I'll come to Meno, tell you all I want to tax billionaires. I go down south, tell people I want to tax billionaires. I say the same thing to everybody. If you want to support my campaign, fantastic. If you don't, if it comes down to having more money from a donor or having a message, I'm going to choose a message every time. And I think that's the difference. That's what we need in our politics. [cheering] >> We're going to go to Maller.

[00:24:15]>> I appreciate that. And messages are great and you actually need to know how to deliver them. On this campaign, I have not taken a dime of corporate pack donations. means I have not taken a dime of Apac donations. This campaign is entirely funded by 120,000 individual donors, more grassroots support than my opponents combined, the most amount of money from Michigan, and we are building up a campaign that shows that we can run very differently, that we can win very differently. But we want to focus the Democrats two campaigns though, >> m we want to focus on and the issue and get some more specific We're talking about foreign policy, but yet we're talking about campaign finance.

[00:24:57]>> Excuse me, M. We want to focus on this question. This is a divisive issue. This this issue of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

[00:25:07]>> Uh it has divided your obviously the three of you, but also your party and you have many Democrats, Jewish Democrats, raising concerns about anti-semitism. Is there an anti-semitism problem in the Democratic party? Moro, >> there is. at the Democratic convention, uh, a an attendee yelled an anti-Semitic slur at my husband, who is Jewish, who was walking with my 5-year-old daughter.

[00:25:35]>> That is terrifying. We need to be able to state very clearly that what the Netanyahu government is doing is wrong, that the violence needs to end, that we need to bring about long-term peace and security for Palestinians and for Israelis, and that turning that into not an anti-Netanyahu, but an anti-American Jewish message is dangerous. But at that convention, you said [applause] >> at that convention, you said you you you did not support US aid to Israel. Is that your position?

[00:26:10]>> I would have voted in support of 40 of the 47 Democratic senators who would have supported the Sanders resolution blocking arm sales to Israel.

[00:26:16]>> Yeah. Okay.

[00:26:17]>> Michiganers are scared. All right. We have rising political violence and extremism. a temple in my congressional district was blown up by a homegrown terrorist. I serve in the Congress on behalf of an incredibly diverse district and I am also, you know, leading on combating anti-semitism in a bi-partisan way. That does not have to be a partisan thing. I am, you know, a proud Democrat who has been clear and consistent in a tough time about a horrible, >> okay, >> brutal war.

[00:26:56]Mr. Elsa, can you answer?

[00:26:58]>> So, look, I I know what it's like to be discriminated against because I pray and I know that anti-semitism and Islamophobia tend to go hand in hand.

[00:27:06]And the real issue when it comes to either of them is the scourge of white supremacy. And I think it's absolutely critical for us to differentiate between love, respect, and admiration for Judaism and the Jewish people and a continued policy that has us sending our money to a foreign government. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. So for me, when it comes to fighting anti-semitism, you are not going to find anybody who is not Jewish who has the same focus on taking that on as somebody who understands that these two things go hand in hand together. And so we can do that because we love all people. But it should not mean that we allow our money to subsidize a part that genocide against other people because people tell you that that's about hatred for anybody. That's about love for everybody.

[00:27:52]>> Thank you, sir.

[00:27:53]>> Yes. [applause] >> Okay. Next up is Rick Pluto, who is the senior capital correspondent for Michigan Public Radio Network in Ann Arbor.

[00:28:07]>> [applause] >> Thank you.

[00:28:10]So the story may be apocryphal but the legend is that George Washington described the function of the Senate as the cooling saucer of Congress where the hot tea or coffee depending on the version is brewed by the House to be it's it's chilled a bit by the Senate's more deliberative processes. So [snorts] the filibuster and the supermajority closure votes that can slow down the progress of legislation are well-known examples. But as you well know, these rules make the Senate unique, but they can also be controversial. What do you think of the Senate's rules? What would you change? And what traditions are worthy of protection? And how do you see the Senate's role in the congressional balance of power?

[00:28:56]>> It goes to Abdul Alsai of this round. I really appreciate you sharing uh that apocryphal metaphor because if you've ever left tea in a cooling saucer for way too long, it dries up. It's not tea anymore. And right now, that's what the Senate has become.

[00:29:10]>> It has become the place where all legislation goes to die. And it allows senators who don't want to take hard votes to hide behind the filibuster of just one senator, usually in a safe seat. And it keeps us from being able to move forward legislation that we absolutely need. So I believe we have to abolish the filibuster. We have to expose senators to democracy again so that they have to answer to their voting public about why they took a particular vote because I know it would change the way that they behave. But this is just one part of the way our democracy has oified. And I think we need to be thinking about broad picture democracy reform. To me that starts with taking on the fact that we've just seen the biggest assault from the Supreme Court on the Voting Rights Act in our history.

[00:29:53]And so whether it's the Supreme Court or it's the filibuster or it's the way we cut our districts apart, we've got to really rethink democracy to make it work for the people again.

[00:30:03]>> Next is Mallalerie McMura.

[00:30:05]>> Thank you. I appreciate the question.

[00:30:07]And we have to get rid of the filibuster. We are at a place where too often Democrats are protecting Republicans from their own bad decisions. And look, I helped flip control of our state senate to Democrats for the first time in 40 years. If we had a similar entity in our Senate, we would not have been able to get anything done. And it shows a real lack of trust in the voters. Politicians, elected officials should be able to govern the way that they see fit to govern and then let the voters decide what happens after that. We also just became the first state in the country to hold a legislative hearing to create a state level voting rights act in the wake of what the Supreme Court just did to say that when the federal government and this rogue Supreme Court come for your rights, Michigan will not stand idly by.

[00:30:53]We will take it on. We will fight [applause] and we will pass it out of the Senate.

[00:30:58]But because we have a two- seat majority and we will send it to the House and see what they do. Do they stand with Michiganders or do they stand with this rogue Supreme Court?

[00:31:08]>> Haley Stevens.

[00:31:10]>> The people of Michigan deserve a functional Congress. And as someone who has been recognized by the Center for Effective Lawmaking as the most effective Democrat for Michigan in the House of Representatives, meaning I write bills, I pass bills on behalf of the great people of Michigan. I have also used my position and communicated very clearly that the filibuster is no longer serving the people of Michigan.

[00:31:38]When our voting rights are under attack, when we are on the eve of seeing a black man for the first time in the history of this country become the speaker and they are erasing seats held by African-American men in the south. That is wrong. The filibuster must go. the filibuster must go so that we can codify health care. And by the way, Nolan, to your other good question about the debt and the deficit, we should use the filibuster to not allow the big ugly bill to pass that increased our debt and at the same time eradicated.

[00:32:12]>> So, we're not going to filibuster here.

[00:32:14]Um, >> so wait, wait. You said you said you would get rid of the filibuster, but you also want to use it.

[00:32:23]>> Which one is it? I said I want to remove the filibuster.

[00:32:26]>> Right. But then you just said you should filibuster uh what's going on with the deficit. Right.

[00:32:31]>> I I I'm saying that I want to change the rules of which I've been a part of. I voted for rules packages on behalf of the people of Michigan. And I believe I Stephen, what I said is we should remove the filibuster so Democrats could have voted down the legislation, the tax bill. That's what I was saying.

[00:32:50]Democrats should have been able to vote down the tax bill. Stephen, that's why I said we need to get rid of the filibuster. That tax bill should not have happened.

[00:32:59]>> Okay. Uh let's talk about the role of the Senate in Washington uh and in our government. We've got an executive uh who who does pretty much what he wants to do without uh the legislature. Uh he doesn't come ask the Senate. He doesn't come ask the House. What are the things that you as a member of the Senate uh could or would do uh to reestablish the Senate's role in uh in lawmaking to make sure that that the co-equal branches are actually uh co-equal.

[00:33:34]You're up first.

[00:33:35]>> I really appreciate the question. Look, the the next US senator from Michigan, because that's what we're talking about.

[00:33:38]We can have high fulutin ideas about what the Senate ought to do. Let's talk about what the next senator from Michigan ought to do over the next six years. For the next two years, we are going to have to put as much sand in the gears of the Trump administration as possible. That means recognizing every procedural opportunity that you have to stop what they're doing from happening.

[00:33:55]And it means making sure that you're using the bully pulpit of a Senate position, a platform to be engaging the broader public about what ought to be.

[00:34:04]Now, that's the other part of it. We've also got to be able to path pave the path for the next president of the United States. I've got three goals. Get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all. And I will use this seat over the next two years to be building a broad public narrative and a broad public conversation about what we can do. Not just in blue communities to turn up the vote, but also in red communities. Cuz I've been to 96 different communities and I tell you, you go to the red parts of town and you ask them, "Hey, do you want healthcare?" They're like, "Damn right, I want healthare." Hey, do you think that a corporation should be able to raise your premium 15%. No. Do you think you should be able to join arms with your fellow workers to make sure a corporation can't just offshore and automate your job? Yes. So, I think we can win on our values. The problem is too often folks get go over there, get cloistered in this conversation in a cloak room. Apparently, I don't even know what a cloak room is where they're having conversations with the 99 other people rather than building the platform that will get us the next president who can get this things done.

[00:35:00]>> Next to Mallerie McMuro. [clears throat] >> Thank you. Look, there is a path for Democrats to take back control of the US Senate, but it is not without Michigan.

[00:35:09]There is a reason that the Republicans are spending more in Michigan than they will spend in Georgia, Maine, Iowa, Alaska, and New Hampshire. Because if Democrats take control of the Senate, there is a real check on an administration that the Republicans, every single Republican sitting in the US House and the Senate right now has refused to vote on the War Powers Resolution. They are letting Donald Trump run rogue. and he has admitted himself that he is surprised at how little push back he has gotten. So that means voting on the war powers resolution, using the power of the purse to deny funding to a rogue ICE agency to these foreign wars abroad, illegal wars that he is executing, to use the power of oversight, to bring people in front of committees to show the American public what these people are actually doing and use that pull pit to be a check to slow him down, to build power, to finally deliver for Michigan.

[00:36:01]>> Yeah. Haley Steven. [applause] Look, the beauty about putting up your hand uh to serve Michigan in the United States Senate is about very squarely doing what Michigan needs uh and what the people of this incredible state deserve. Um and that means adding Michigan amendments and Michigan focused amendments to any large bill that comes down. We as individual lawmakers can't control what moves to the Senate floor.

[00:36:32]But as a US senator, very differently than the US House. You can force a vote on an amendment. Think about what that would mean for trade policy. Think about what that would mean for our 21st century labor movement. Think about what that would mean for our incredible Great Lakes that need protection and stewardship. So, I very squarely am running for United States Senate to be the champion and the voice of Michigan at the lawmaking table. And I promise you, Stephen, I read the rules books. I understand them. They're complicated, but they relate to what impacts and affects our people and our the outcomes of our state.

[00:37:11]>> Okay, we've got to keep moving here.

[00:37:13]Thank you.

[00:37:16]Our next question will be from Beth Leblanc, Lancing Bureau reporter for the Detroit News.

[00:37:26][applause] Thank you candidates. Here in Michigan, voters face a number of complicated problems on many fronts. education, health care, housing, the changing landscape of policy regarding racial inequities, immigration, and urban versus rural investment. As a US senator, you really only have reach to make a difference in the way the federal government manages these issues. So, from your perspective, where is the government failing the people most on issues like these? And how in your role as a US Senate senator in the current, you know, dysfunction of Washington DC, would you make a difference?

[00:38:10]>> Maller, you are up first.

[00:38:13]>> Thank you and thank you Beth for the question. Uh the federal government has the power to impact people's lives in so many ways and one of those ways is education. Right now we have Linda McMahon who has quite literally bodys slammed the Department of Education out of existence.

[00:38:29]that is failing all of us in Michigan. I currently represent the most diverse district in the state senate in the state of Michigan from Bagley through Birmingham. There are some schools in my district that have no HVAC. The building is 100 years old. They haven't had new textbooks in many years. And for many kids, the dental clinic that comes into the school is the only time they will ever see a medical professional. What if the federal government could rebuild the Department of Education to take on the challenge of rebuilding all the school buildings in the country so that my Detroit districts are not spending as much money trying to keep a hundred-year-old building functional and they can spend more money on kids, pair professionals, after school programs, transportation to make sure that every child starts at the same starting line.

[00:39:16][applause] >> Haley Stevens, you're next. Look, I'm a believer in proven and effective partnership from the federal, state, and local level. And I'm actually proud of the work that our great governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has done to grow Michigan's advanced manufacturing economy. I was proud to work alongside her in the Congress when we were making our way out of a global pandemic. Uh, I think back to my time working as the chief of staff on the US auto rescue in the administration of President Barack Obama. That was federal policy that met the moment for who we are as Michiganers. When they were writing us off the map, when they were saying, "Who's going to shut out the lights in Detroit?" the people of Michigan, our grit, our determination, our hard work, the ingenuity, the gals at the fish fry on Good Friday who were so joyful but yet frustrated at the rising cost. There is a way in which we can form a brilliant and beautiful society with handson direct leadership of which I have always shown from the bottom up from places like Pontiac and Moskegan to Grand Rapids to the United States Senate.

[00:40:31]Thank you.

[00:40:32]>> Thank you.

[00:40:32]>> Abdul, you're next.

[00:40:34]>> Now, you all know I'm a doctor, depending upon who you read.

[00:40:39]>> And my instinct is to say healthcare because it's the thing that's always kept me up at night that people can't afford to see a doctor. But I was watching a video of an incoming tsunami and people were playing in the sand and they didn't know that there was a title wave coming. And the title wave that is coming is AI. and the fact that we do not have federal legislation that sets guideposts around the changing social contract, whether or not you can even sell your cognitive labor on a market for money, whether or not these will fall into the wrong hands or worse escape human control, the impact on our environment in the form of data centers.

[00:41:13]AI is the oncoming tsunami. We need legislation. Now, here's the problem. A lot of the folks who are not bought off by the industries that have controlled too much of Congress for too long don't necessarily understand the technology and the folks who understand the technology are bought off by the corporations who are creating it. So we need leaders who understand the technology are willing to stand up on it and protect humanity from that oncoming tsunami.

[00:41:38]>> Thank you.

[00:41:39]>> Thank you.

[00:41:39]>> I I appreciate Can I jump in? I appreciate the need for legislation, which is why I rolled out a comprehensive AI plan this week on two fronts, AI and jobs that recognizes that Acraure just announced they are laying off over 2,000 workers. And they directly cited AI. We should institute a token tax on commercial use of AI to fund apprenticeship programs that teach people how to do negotiations, how to sit in client presentations, how to manage other people, the things that AI is bad at. Because every single company leader in this room is going to need managers, is going to need leaders, is going to need people to climb up that ladder. We also need export controls [clears throat] to ensure we are not allowing China to succeed on AI. We need real transparency and testing. Just like every car that rolls off an assembly line can't be sold to the public until it is tested, until it is vetted, until it is deemed safe. And if something goes wrong, there should be an ability to recall, to sue the company who harmed a person. We have to put people first, which is why I'm proud to be leading on this issue. And I hope it spurs conversation across the >> And it's just it's is not enough. It's not enough. Look, you you voted to give data centers tax breaks, our tax dollars to build data centers. I I just is hard because this is exactly the problem that I see. I'm the only candidate on this stage who big AI super PACs are not going to be spending money on behalf of the only one. I don't think that it is enough to do this token thing. I think we need to regulate AI and AI corporations as public utilities. It is too dangerous to be left out of control of government. We need to be thinking bigger about this challenge because again it is not just a change in technology that comes around. This is coming faster than we can even imagine and we need to have the foresight to understand that we need new regulatory infrastructure around taking it on and we're going to need people who aren't bought off by the industry.

[00:43:31]>> Hey Stevens, can Michigan progress if it throttles data centers and AI growth? Well, I'm eager to put Michigan first at the lawmaking table, and I'm eager to see Michigan continue to lead on the moonshots of the 21st century, just like our great auto industry has been doing, just like we're seeing defense and aerospace do so that employs countless people through a robust uh supply chain.

[00:43:58]We know uh that we've got to compete against China, and the way we are going to win the future is from a place called Michigan. And so I've got to make sure as your senator that the tax code and the bills and the investments that are coming down are coming into, you know, properly into our communities that are saving taxpayers money and also alleviating costs. You know, we got these big guys coming in here into Michigan, all right, these uh billionaire companies and all this. We need to make sure that Michiganders do not pay a penny for it. And what we also have to do is suck the money from them.

[00:44:39]Put them into our treasury. That's how we grow the economy, lower our debt and deficit, which is another way in which I believe we should be taking on China because they own a ton of our debt and that would make things nice for us.

[00:44:51]Nolan >> Melie McMorro Abdul Alsad has called for Medicare for all repeatedly during [clears throat] this campaign. What's your answer to rising health care costs and uh increasing access by the citizens to healthcare?

[00:45:07]>> Thank you. What I know is that our residents simply can't afford to wait.

[00:45:12]One of my constituents shared that she outright canceled her health insurance plan. Her premiums went from $200 a month to $2,000 a month when the Republicans voted to eliminate the ACA tax credits. People can't afford to wait for a res a re revolution that may never come. People who are rationing their insulin right now can't afford to wait for Medicare for all when we have options on the table right now to lower prescription drug costs to restore the ACA tax credits to allow any Michigander who wants to to opt into Medicare regardless of their age to create a real public option that gives people choice and that forces private health insurance companies to bring their costs down.

[00:45:56][clears throat] I'll tell you this. Revolution is definitely not coming if we're not fighting for it. So, let's play a game.

[00:46:02]If you're on the stage and you have never taken a corporate pack check from Blue Cross Blue Shield, raise your hand.

[00:46:07]>> Anyway, all of that is to say, I think we really can fight for a world where everybody can be guaranteed healthcare.

[00:46:13]I think we really should fight for that world because too many people in this country are going without the health care that they need and deserve. 225 billion in medical debt. [snorts] >> 225. That's bigger than the GDP of half the states in this country.

[00:46:25]>> Thank you, sir. We got >> No, no, no. I'm not done yet. I just want to say let me just finish. I just want to say one more thing.

[00:46:30]>> It is important for us to recognize that all of these issues go back to how we finance campaigns and it just keeps coming back and coming back. Thank you.

[00:46:36]>> We've heard Thank you.

[00:46:37]>> Okay, [clears throat] we've got to move to the next subject. [applause] >> Next up is uh Lauren Gibbons. She is a Lancing based political reporter from Bridge, Michigan.

[00:46:50][applause] >> Thanks for taking our questions today.

[00:46:55]The winner of this race will be a fresh face in the US Senate. A chamber that's bred skilled negotiators, passionate aators, career politicians, and even presidents. They will join a group of lawmakers with unique powers to deliberate key issues facing the nation and provide checks on the executive branch. It's never been an easy chamber to pass legislation through, but partisan disagreements and political dysfunction have further complicated that process in recent years, resulting in government shutdowns, drawn out or contentious debate on critical policy matters and decreased productivity. If elected to this office, what would a successful first term look like for you?

[00:47:34]And what political goals would you prioritize when representing the state of Michigan in Washington? What skills, career accomplishments, and other life experiences have prepared you for that kind of success?

[00:47:48]>> Haley Stevens, you're up first.

[00:47:49]>> Well, it's true. The Senate is certainly going to miss Gary Peter's salty beard.

[00:47:54]Uh, you know, fresh face abound, I guess. But um you know very seriously to to your question um look we have got to make sure in that Michigan is heard at the lawmaking table and my visions and goals for my first term which is a six-year term. It's a long term. We can't even totally predict everything that's going to unfold and the first couple years are going to be imperative.

[00:48:21]We have got to act for our state now. We have got to collaborate and grow and and continue to build off the success that people like our the new mayor of Detroit, Mary Sheffield, who's been a part of this, you know, from her time on city council continue to be the bright light and the beacon. And part of that is going to be things that I have drafted already. I'm ready on day one with legislation. Lower costs, lessen our dependence on China, create jobs.

[00:48:52]Bill, you >> you talked about career politicians.

[00:48:55]Now, I didn't grow up thinking I want to be a politician. I want to be a doctor.

[00:48:58]And my work has been in the bowels of city and county government. I remember working with Mayor Sheffield talking about lead and how we get it out of the city. Now, I know from Lancing in DC, folks like to look down on the folks who actually do the work in government, but that work is really important because you don't just have to show up Monday through Friday. You got to show up on Saturday and Sunday, too. You've got to make hard decisions about how you make sure a wick check gets delivered, how you make sure that a restaurant's a safe place to eat, how you make sure that people aren't breathing polluted air or drinking leaded water. That work is really important and it's under reppresented in the US Senate. You don't have folks who came up the way of municipal government understand what it looks like to actually run government at the grassroots. If I was elected, I'd be the first Democratic doctor elected to the US Senate since 1969. First ever public health official elected to the US Senate. Now, if you've ever looked at DC and been like, "Why the hell is RFK Jr.

[00:49:49]running public health?" I think we could all use one of those right now. But that's important context and it offers something that's greater than the sum of the parts.

[00:49:58]>> Mallerie McMura, [applause] >> right now, Democrats across our country and across Michigan are crying out for a new Democratic party. We need a reckoning. We need a party that knows how to fight, how to win, and how to deliver. And what I know is that in Michigan, we have written that blueprint. We are going to have our work cut out for us against Mike Rogers. And I am the only candidate on this stage who defeated an entrenched Republican incumbent to get into office, swinging a district 20 points in my very first try.

[00:50:29]After googling how to run for office after Trump got elected the first time, I helped flip the entire state senate to Democrats for the first time since 1984.

[00:50:38]and we have delivered on expanding child care, civil rights, voting rights, affordable housing, removing lead service lines. What I want to do in the Senate, I would be one of the only moms of a young child. Let's expand RX kids nationwide. You've got a moment right now where even Donald Trump is calling for a baby bonus. He doesn't have ideas how to do it. We've got an evidencebacked researched bipartisan way to support moms and babies to grow our state. And we will lead from Michigan.

[00:51:04]>> You >> Thank you. [applause] As a senator from Michigan, you will be called on to take a leading role in the in auto industry regulation. Would you recommend rolling back the suspension of electric vehicle uh regulations that Donald Trump put in place?

[00:51:28]>> Haley.

[00:51:29]>> Yeah.

[00:51:31]The future of Michigan's auto industry has got to be made in Michigan and by our incredible UAW. And that is where I have always and long cast my vote. I actually don't really care what kind of car you drive as long as it's Michiganade and Union made and that's a good thing. But the different types of cars and the innovations that are coming out here and the auto industry that has been leading from a front when again they were being written off the map. It is inspiring. Look, I uh became the first Democrat since the moon landing to hold my congressional seat. And I remember getting on the science committee and we were celebrating actually the 50-year anniversary of the moon landing. And instead of looking backwards, I looked forward on that committee and I shared with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle.

[00:52:23]Which is why as a manufacturing geek and as a proven bipartisan lawmaker who gets wins for Michigan, I ask them to join me in propelling the moonshot that comes out of the small to midsize businesses all across our state. The innovators in their garages who then turn them into businesses. This is what we're all about. And we've got the most number of first robotics teams in the country here in Michigan. We've gotme headquartered here. We're doing STEM. It's a good thing.

[00:52:54]>> Thank you.

[00:52:54]>> Go next to Abdul.

[00:52:56]>> Sure.

[00:52:56]>> So look, my my dad came to America to build cars. He wanted to be an automotive engineer. This was the best place in the world to do it. We have the best engineering talent. We have the best manufacturing talent. What we don't have are the right incentives in place.

[00:53:09]And what we don't have are corporations who are incented to make long range decisions. I remember when my dad came home from the tech center back in 1996.

[00:53:17]He had watched a lot of the engineering staff get laid off and he said, "A company that invests more in finance than engineering is not going to be an auto company for very long." 2008 comes around and all of a sudden GM needs a bailout. We are in a situation right now where too often big corporations are chasing a quarterly bottom line rather than making investments in a long range capacity, the wrong long range productivity of their workforce and their lines. And I think we need to change that system. So a couple things, number one, we need to ban stock buybacks entirely. Number two, we need to put labor on corporate boards. Number three, we need to lay out the incentives to build the future of electrical vehicles while also knowing that we're going to continue to dominate when it comes to internal combustion engines.

[00:53:58]And finally, number four, we need to make sure that stocks get locked up for corporate seauite for 10 years. So they're asking how am I making decisions about how this company's going to look 10 years from now rather than a quarter from now.

[00:54:12]>> Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you. The lack of consistency here is absolutely killing us. After Donald Trump and his administration repealed the $7,500 tax credit, Ford posted more than a $19 billion loss. GM posted a multi-billion dollar loss. Stalantis just announced their uh retooling plan this week to get back on track. China is celebrating. They are knocking at our doorstep in both Mexico and Canada to bring cheap EVs into the country. We need to restore the tax credit to ensure that we are incentivizing, we are supporting our auto industry so that no matter what you want to drive, an internal combustion engine vehicle, a hybrid or an EV, that that is an affordable thing for you to do. So, we put these cars on the secondary used market that we support our industry because we revolutionized the automotive industry. We revolutionized the manufacturing line to make it available not just for the few, but for the masses and the rest of the world copied what we were doing. We have to support our industry from the ground up and also support registered apprenticeships.

[00:55:19]Something I've been proud to champion in the state senate where now more than 20,000 Michiganers have gone through a registered apprenticeship and they now make an average salary of more than $80,000 a year. We are leading here in Michigan and we need to do so in the US.

[00:55:33]>> Thank you.

[00:55:35]>> [applause] >> Let's finish by asking each of you to briefly answer the question, what does the word Michigan mean to you?

[00:55:45]>> 30 seconds.

[00:55:46]>> Starting to view you, Abdul.

[00:55:47]>> It's home. It's the place where my Egyptian immigrant grandfather and my daughter of the American Revolution stepmother built a home that taught me both what a mustard pretzel was and then taught me how lucky I was to be born in a country that gave me great public schools, that paid for my medical education, that vaccinated me against diseases that killed an aunt and uncle I never got to meet. Michigan for me is about opportunity and it needs to be that again. Haley Stevens, >> Michigan fires me up. And Michigan is the peninsula state of 83 counties, the 10th largest uh population in the union and geographically the largest state east of the Mississippi and Michigan deserves its best advocate at the lawmaking table. You know, the US Senate is the chief lawmaking role in this country and Michigan gets to send two people. Okay, >> Mike Rogers, he wants to rubber stamp Donald Trump and sell Michigan out. I don't know if we're doing closing statements or is this just the last question? Okay, I'm done. I love Michigan.

[00:56:51]>> Valerie, go ahead.

[00:56:52]>> Thank you.

[00:56:53]>> Senator Slotkin said something yesterday that we need to attract more people to Michigan. And I'm the only person on the stage who chose to move here. I've lived all over the country. You might have seen a little thing about my tweets online, but I chose to move here because Michigan is the greatest state in the entire country. This is where you can design, dream, and build anything. This is where I got engaged. This is where I got married. My daughter was born at the same hospital where my husband was born.

[00:57:20]We are going to change the world.

[00:57:22]Michigan is going to be the state that saves the country. And I would be incredibly honored to be a part of that.

[00:57:27]Yeah. Okay. [applause] So, we've reached the portion of the program where candidates are going to give their closing statements. Each candidate will now have one minute for those closing remarks.

[00:57:42]>> One minute.

[00:57:42]>> One minute. Abdul, you're up first.

[00:57:45]>> Well, thank you so much for an excellent moderated debate. Thank you to my colleagues. You know, we're here on this island, Meno Island, where we're having a conversation about common ground. It's ironic because this is like the one piece of ground in Michigan where literally almost none of us live.

[00:58:03]If we're serious about common ground, you're not going to find it here. You're going to find it in the lived experiences of people in the places from whence you came. If you are curious enough to look, people who cannot afford their groceries, people who cannot afford their healthcare, people who send their kids to schools that look like they did 30 years ago. If we're serious about solving problems, why don't we focus on that common ground? And if we did, rather than coming up here and figuring out how corporations can buy corporate politicians to do corporate bidding, maybe we would actually be asking how do we deliver for those folks? How do we take the corporations out, put the people back in? How do we guarantee healthcare? How do we stand with unions and finally tax billionaires their fair share? Cuz y'all won capitalism already. It's all right.

[00:58:44]You're going to be okay. We have an opportunity to do better and we must.

[00:58:47]That's what this campaign is about. My name is Abdul Aled. I hope I can earn your support.

[00:58:50]>> Thank you.

[00:58:52]>> [applause] >> Next.

[00:58:56][cheering] Next.

[00:58:58]Next is Haley Stevens.

[00:59:00]>> Look, I'm the daughter of small business owners who met at Oakland University. My mom paid her way through school washing dishes, and they taught me the value of hard work, hard Michigan work. Uh, and as someone who, you know, was the only person for Michigan on the auto rescue team in the administration of Barack Obama staying late at work to take those calls, to return the calls for Michiganders who were worried about their job and their small business, I want to make sure that our state continues to lead. And I want to make sure that no one stands in their in our way. Not Donald Trump, not Mike Rogers, not the people who are looking to sell us out to the highest bidder. We have an incredibly unique story to tell. And we've got to be sleeves rolled up on day one when the new Senate begins. I would be so deeply honored to earn your vote and your trust for a six-year term on behalf of this beautiful state in the United States Senate. Thank you.

[01:00:05]>> Thank you, [applause] >> Mallerie McMorro.

[01:00:10]Thank you. First of all, I want to thank my uh colleagues running in this race for being here. There are three Democrats on this stage who there is more unites us than divides us. We all want you to have healthcare. We all want to end the war with Iran. We all want to beat Mike Rogers in November. We have different ideas of how to get there. And I don't want to lose sight of the stakes. Michigan has the most important Senate race in the entire country. And first of all, no matter what happens on August 4th, in the spirit of this conference, we all have to come together on August 5th. We must defeat Michael Jackson. [applause] Now, I am asking for your support because I am the only candidate on this stage who has beaten an entrenched Republican to get into office. The only candidate who helped build real power in helping flip the state senate for the first time in 40 years to deliver on civil rights, voting rights, healthcare, child care. You name it, we've done it.

[01:01:04]We are calling out for a new Democratic party. I know how to fight, win, and deliver. And with your support, we will do exactly that.

[01:01:12][applause] So, that concludes our Senate primary debate. Thanks to our candidates, the journalists, and of course the audience members uh for participating today.

[01:01:28]Thanks for joining us and a great day.

[01:01:31]And we would like to invite the candidates.