GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers clashed in their first debate Tuesday on issues from abortion rights to a Chinese-linked battery plant to negotiating drug prices as they battle for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat.

The Senate hopefuls faced questions on abortion, the solvency of Medicare and Social Security, border security and government efforts to boost electric vehicle production and adoption.

Rogers and Slotkin sparred over federal electric vehicle policies and incentives as well as recent state incentives that went toward a EV battery parts plant near Big Rapids pursued by Gotion Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese battery maker.

Slotkin stressed she didn’t care what vehicle people drove — gas or EV — but said she cared about who would build the next generation of vehicles and argued that charge should be led by “Team America.”

She said the pandemic was a “come to Jesus moment” when it comes to bringing the automotive supply chain back to Michigan.

“It’s either going to be us or China,” Slotkin said. “Right now, China is eating our lunch on these types of vehicles.”

Rogers argued a large portion of the parts and resources needed for electric vehicles still have to come through China, and contended the transition would cost auto jobs currently specializing in internal combustion engine vehicles. Additionally, Rogers said, the electric grid “isn’t even ready to handle it.”

“You beat China by selling Americans cars they want to buy,” Rogers said.

The candidates also sparred over Slotkin's role in a state government deal that secured Gotion's planned $2.4 billion investment for a battery components plant in rural Mecosta County.

Rogers argued Slotkin had signed an NDA in relation to the project, while Slotkin denied signing an NDA with any Chinese company. The NDA Slotkin signed to obtain information on the project was with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, not the company itself.

“I have never signed an NDA with any Chinese government, Chinese entity, Chinese company at all,” Slotkin said. “I found out about that plant when it was in the paper.”

Slotkin defended her record by citing legislation she’d proposed that would ban Chinese from buying farmland and manufacturing facilities. At one point, she tried to turn the China attacks back on Rogers, noting he was the chief security officer for AT&T when the company was entangled with a Chinese telecom giant.

Rogers called Slotkin's claims “aspersions.”

"For the last 10 years, basically, I had a security clearance. If I wanted to work for a Chinese company, which I would not, I couldn't do it," Rogers said.

'Deception training'

Slotkin repeated throughout the debate that the Rogers before her was "a completely different guy" than the Rogers of 2014 who cared about national security and said politics should stop at the water's edge. Rogers countered that "deceive and deception just been the constant theme of my opponent from the very beginning of this campaign."

Early on, after Slotkin called for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that brings the remaining hostages home, Rogers called her the "architect" of the nuclear deal with Iran negotiated under former President Barack Obama and said she supported taking the Houthi militants in Yemen off the designated terrorist list — a group now shooting at the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea.

"Bad decision, bad decision, bad decision," Rogers said.

Slotkin shot back that Rogers was one of the leaders that got the U.S. into the Iraq war and said she does not support another land war in the Middle East.

"There's one of us on this stage who has been on the receiving end of Iranian rockets, Iranian mortars, Iranian IEDs in three tours in Iraq. I know intimately what it's like to have Iranian terrorism kill my friends,” Slotkin said.

“So I take a backseat to no one on the issue of Iran. I am as hawkish as anyone," Slotkin added.

Rogers countered that the Congress had relied on information based on CIA intelligence at the time that Slotkin was working for the agency.

"The CIA has deception training. My opponent clearly went through that, but you're supposed to use that against your adversaries, not Michigan voters," Rogers said.

'You were in Florida'

On abortion, Rogers insisted that he would “do nothing” when he goes back to Washington that would overturn Michigan's 2022 constitutional amendment broadly protecting access to the procedure.

“I think those decisions are best made where her doctor is, where her family is, where her faith is,” Rogers said.

Slotkin claimed that Rogers, who had an anti-abortion record in Congress, voted 56 times during his 20 years in the House to make it harder for a woman’s right to choose.

“He was saying to women he does not trust you to make your own decisions about your own family planning,” Slotkin said. “If he does not trust us to protect our own rights, do not trust him.”

On rebuttal, Rogers accused Slotkin of deception and said the issue was “decided as of 2022” in Michigan, a reference to that year’s Proposition 3.

“I was here in Michigan, and I voted Yes on Proposition 3,” Slotkin shot back. “You were in Florida. You voted in Florida. You weren't here.”

Rogers previously lived in Florida for several years before returning to Michigan last year before announcing his Senate campaign.

The Senate rivals also sparred over inflation and the higher cost of everyday goods.

Asked how to bring down costs, Rogers said the country needs to roll back federal regulations and become energy independent to bring gas prices down, which would bring food prices down.

Slotkin said she’d bring supply chains back home from places like China, citing 44 manufacturing facilities that are being built right now in Michigan.

She also wants to “attack” the primary costs like health care, prescription drugs, housing and childcare and giving tax credits to middle-class families.

“We finally allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices,” Slotkin said. “Mike Rogers voted five times against allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.”

The hour-long debate started at 7 p.m. and was hosted by WOOD-TV, the Grand Rapids NBC affiliate. It was simulcast by NewsNation and other Michigan TV stations and moderated by WOOD political reporter Rick Albin.

A second Rogers-Slotkin debate is planned for Monday in Detroit at 7 p.m. on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7).

A new statewide poll released Monday showed Slotkin with a 3.5-percentage-point lead over Rogers as the contest narrows with about a month until Election Day.

Slotkin, a three-term congresswoman from Holly, got 46.8% of support from the 600 likely Michigan voters surveyed to 43.3% for Rogers, a former seven-term congressman from White Lake Township, with about 5% of respondents still undecided, according to the poll commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4).

Slotkin's lead is within the survey's margin of error of plus-minus 4 percentage points. About 4% of survey participants chose among four third-party hopefuls, including 1.5% who said they'd be supporting Libertarian nominee Joseph Solis-Mullen, according to the survey results.

Rogers cut Slotkin's overall lead by more than half since the last Detroit News/WDIV poll of the Senate race in late August that showed her ahead by 8.5 percentage points, as the former House intelligence chairman brought more GOP voters into his column following his win in the August primary election.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has deemed the Slotkin-Rogers contest for the seat held by Michigan's senior Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, a toss-up. The race is among the most closely watched nationally, with over $75 million already spent by outside groups.

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