Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin repeated her call for an Israeli ceasefire during the Senate debate on Tuesday and criticized the "humanitarian disaster going on in Gaza."
While Slotkin said Israel has a "right to defend itself," she said she was also concerned that the "United States [will] get back into a big land war in the Middle East" as a result of the conflict.
"Israel has the right to defend itself when people come and kill their citizens. That is something that any country in the world has the right to do," said Slotkin during a debate with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers sponsored by WOOD-TV. "But we can also say that we don't like seeing loss of life among civilians."
Slotkin added that Israel has a "right to respond" to Iranian missile strikes and attacks from its proxies. But she said she was also worried that a military response could bring the United States "back into a big land war in the Middle East."
Slotkin’s comments come as she has been courting support from Michigan’s Arab community, which is one of the largest in the country. The Democrat, who has also faced pressure from pro-Hamas activists, recently used an algorithm to target her Facebook campaign ads at users with an expressed interest in the "State of Palestine," "Al Jazeera," and "Islamic Studies," while blocking users interested in "Jewish studies" from seeing the ads, the Washington Free Beacon reported last month.
In response to Slotkin’s comments, Rogers countered that a "ceasefire could happen today if we could get the hostages out" and argued that "you can't have a government in Gaza run by Hamas."
"People have been trying to be on both sides of this issue," said Rogers. "We can have a ceasefire tomorrow if Hamas would give up the hostages. We have four Americans still there. Those Americans should be brought home."
Slotkin and Rogers also sparred over a controversial Chinese battery plant in the state. Rogers accused Slotkin of supporting the project, a charge that she denied.
The debate was the first between Slotkin, who currently serves in the House, and Rogers, a former congressman. The Senate race in Michigan is one of the most competitive in the country and could determine party control of the upper chamber next year.
The debate comes amid a tightening race, with Republicans gaining ground in the swing state. A survey last week by the Trafalgar Group showed Slotkin and Rogers tied with voters. While Slotkin maintains a 3-percentage-point lead in the RealClearPolitics polling average, that is down from the 5-percentage-point lead she held last month.
Slotkin also failed to secure endorsements from two influential Michigan groups, the Farm Bureau and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce—the first year in nearly two decades that the organizations haven’t endorsed the Democratic candidate in that Senate seat, the Free Beacon reported.
As she has dipped in the polls, Slotkin has tried to distance herself from controversial Biden administration policies. She has been running new ads denouncing electric vehicle mandates—despite voting down a bill that would have blocked those mandates last month.
Democrats have also raised concerns about a loss of momentum in the presidential race. Slotkin warned donors in a phone call last week that her campaign’s internal polling showed Harris "underwater" in Michigan, according to Axios.
Slotkin and Rogers are both vying for the open Senate seat vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. The candidates are scheduled for a second and final debate next Tuesday.