(soft music) - We have an open US senate seat here in Michigan, one that will help to determine the makeup of the US Senate next year.

Stephen Henderson, we are less than a month before election day.

What are the issues at play in this Senate race in Michigan?

- Well, some of them, mirror the same issues that you have at the national level.

I mean, I think for Mike Rogers, who was a really competent and strong member of Congress for this state for a long time, the question is whether he's still the same guy who used to represent us or is he's some, you know, acolyte of Donald Trump's.

You know, he's been back and forth about that.

Hasn't been really clear about it.

A lot of his policies seem to be taking from the worst parts of the Trump platform, this anti-immigrant question.

Obsession with conspiracy and things like that.

You know, there's also this issue about residency, but now I see that someone's raising a residency about Alyssa Slotkin too, I don't think anything, any race really has its way, can find its way to its own footing in this climate.

Everything is really about what that national picture looks like.

- Nolan, we should note that the Detroit Free Press has endorsed Alyssa Slotkin.

And while your paper, the Detroit News has endorsed Mike Rogers in the race, I'm curious what you make of Steven's point about, is this the same Mike Rogers from 2014?

That is something that Alyssa Slotkin alluded to in this week.

- Well, that's her message.

I think he's a stronger candidate and will be a stronger lawmaker because he's went out and had private sector experience.

And I'd correct one thing Steve said.

Mike Rogers is not anti-immigrant.

He is against illegal immigration, as is much of the electorate.

The other big issue in this campaign, which has emerged as sort of the dominant piece of discussion is the auto industry and whether this headlong rush into electric vehicles is good for Michigan or bad for Michigan, and how much Chinese involvement in it should we tolerate in the interest of protecting national security and our industrial secrets.

Those are big questions that need to be talked out.

And I will give them credit.

They did give their opinions and they offered a lot of information on those issues during the debate in Grand Rapids.

My complaint there was, you know, we had a chance to see three really good Senate debates, widely dispersed Senate debates put on by the Michigan Debate Commission.

And for some reason Alyssa Slotkin said no.

So now we've got a couple of debates, one in Grand Rapids, one in Detroit.

We've got to get to the point where it's the expectation that if you're gonna run for these offices, you gotta do public debates.

- Steven, I'm gonna allow you on the soapbox too on this one 'cause I know this is an issue that both you and Nolan feel really passionate about.

- We need a better way to make sure that voters throughout the state, especially obviously for statewide races, get to see the two candidates talk with one another.

Sometimes we get close, sometimes we don't.

The the problem is that the campaigns have too much say in how it works and whether it's going to happen.

Something like a debate commission, which I have been talking about for a long time and have been trying to get together would solve that problem.

There are some people working on that right now.

They tried this cycle, they were unsuccessful.

As long as the campaigns have control, we're not gonna see this play out in any reasonable way, not just in this race, but, you know, we've got statewide races coming up in two years as well.

We'll have the same problem.

- What I think is really fascinating too about this race is how well versed and established in the issues and political and policy experience both Slotkin and Rogers have.

Right, one is a sitting congresswoman, one is a former representative.

What do you make of candidates with just sort of such experience coming together right now and talking about really big issues in our state, Steven?

- This is the best senate race we've had in some time where we've got, you know, two candidates who, as you point out, have the right mix of qualifications and experience to be on the ticket and voters have a real choice.

I mean, I don't agree with Mike Rogers on a lot of things.

And I think he's become part of a dangerous trend in Republican politics, but he is not unqualified for the seat.

And so when they can actually sit and talk about the issues, you know, voters get a real contrast, they get a real lesson in what the differences are between the two parties.

This is a good race, - This is a close race.

What do you make of the reason why voters just look at these two candidates and they're just so neck and neck?

- Well, it's neck and neck across the board in Michigan and across the nation, I mean states, it shows how evenly divided Michigan is.

This race has tightened to look more like the presidential race in recent weeks despite, you know, Slotkin's real spending advantage and fundraising advantage here.

It does reflect where we are politically as a state, I think and it's gonna come right down to election day.

- Steven, last word to you.

- Yeah, it's a close race because the presidential race is also showing to be close, I also think Slotkin still has work to do exciting the Democratic base in places like Detroit where voters don't know her as well as they do in other places.

There's been this gap between her and African American voters that people have pointed out that people are worried about.

I think on election day, that won't mean as much as it's meaning in the polls.

I expect there to be a significant over vote of black women in particular in Detroit that will also benefit Alyssa Slotkin and probably push her over the top.

But until then, you know, until that can actually happen.

I think the polls are gonna show this to be really close.