"This means Republicans are now an even heavier favorite to win back control of the Senate, regardless of the result at the top of the ticket.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — "I'm not feeling my best right now about where we are on Kamala Harris in a place like Michigan. We have her underwater in our polling," said Democrat Michigan Congresswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin – who is running to replace one of her follow Democrats and hold on to the seat in the tightly-watched Senate race that could play a key role in determining which party controls Congress's upper chamber in 2025.
Slotkin warned her donors and made the surprising comments while standing alongside New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker during a virtual fundraising event last Wednesday, September 25th, according to a video clip obtained by Axios and since confirmed by other media outlets.
A top pickup opportunity for Senate Republicans, Slotkin is running against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers to replace retiring Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow in the politically divided swing state that's swung back and forth between Republican and Democrat in recent elections.
Both parties are investing heavily in the race – one of the most competitive in the country – where The Cook Political Report has classified the Michigan contest one of only two "toss-up races" in November.
In mid-September the Cook Report shifted the U.S. Senate race in Montana from “toss up” to “lean Republican,” as polls there show Republican Tim Sheehy leading incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D) in another critical contest.
"Today we are making a major shift – moving the Montana Senate race from Toss Up to Lean Republican. This means Republicans are now an even heavier favorite to win back control of the Senate, regardless of the result at the top of the ticket,” wrote the Report’s Jessica Taylor.
Republicans need to flip only two seats in order to win back Senate majority.
The West Virginia Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) is a virtual certainty to go to the GOP, with Governor Jim Justice (R) is in line to replace him – leaving the states of Arizona, Montana, Ohio, and now perhaps Micigan as possible Republican pick-ups.
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- By double-digits, Americans say Kamala Harris is "at least partially responsible for" crippling inflation, the Border Crisis & massive Illegal Immigration – and over 50% think the next president should be a departure from Joe Biden’s failed agenda.
After Donald Trump carried the state on his way to winning the presidency in 2016, Joe Biden carried the state in 2020.
But back in February during Michigan's Democrat Primary, then-candidate Joe Biden was plagued by the beginning of the so-called "Uncommitted" write in campaign that won 13.5% of the vote there prior to launching into numerous others states after its Michigan success.
Biden was even beaten by the “uncommitted” vote in both of the Detroit Suburbs of Dearborn and Hamtramck, where Arab Americans make up close to half the population.
Just last week Hamtramck's Democrat Mayor, Amer Ghalib, endorsed Donald Trump.
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, as well as the two Senate candidates, are focusing heavily on economic issues – particularly jobs in the auto industry and preventing jobs from being moved overseas.
Political advertisements are already blanketing the state, focusing on China and manufacturing.
Rogers' press secretary, Kate DeTurk, said in a recent statement to Newsweek that the Michigan Senate race is "tied because Mike Rogers isn't taking any vote for granted."
"He's pounding the pavement on the campaign trail and showcasing his record of solutions for Michigan," she said.
"Slotkin is relying on her friends in Washington to cover up her record of crushing Michigan families – and her six years of thumb twiddling in Congress.
"Mike's message is resonating because Michigan families need a leader who will have their back," said DeTurk.
"Slotkin needs some crossover voters who might choose Trump in order to maintain and build on a lead," said Ken Kollman, professor of political science at the University of Michigan.
"They are both campaigning on protections against jobs being sent overseas," he said.
Slotkin currently represents a Lansing-based congressional district. She was first elected in the 2018 "Blue Wave," which carried Democrats to victory in suburban districts across the country.
Rogers represented a Lansing-based Congressional District in Congress from 2001 until his retirement in 2015. He is a former FBI special agent and former chair of the House Intelligence Committee.Most Michigan polls have shown Cong. Slotkin outperforming Kamala Harris in the state.