Mike Rogers and Elissa Slotkin tangle over national security and tout bipartisan credentials in Michigan Senate debate

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and GOP former Rep. Mike Rogers clashed repeatedly here Tuesday over who would best represent their purple state in the first debate of their hotly contested Senate race.

The tone during their hourlong debate, hosted by NBC affiliate WOOD, was mostly civil. But there were several hostile moments, with both candidates accusing the other of lying about and misrepresenting their records.

Rogers, noting Slotkin’s background as a CIA analyst, said he was “not even sure she could pass the polygraph test [for] the CIA anymore.”

And after Rogers accused Slotkin of “huffing at the microphone” during a particularly contentious exchange about China, she fired back.

“It’s just sad that a guy who considers himself a national security guy can’t see that we need to work together on this issue — not lie, repeatedly,” Slotkin said. “Let’s get to work, man.”

The debate, the first of two scheduled in the final weeks of the race, comes as mail-in balloting is underway in Michigan. Slotkin and Rogers are competing for the seat opening with the retirement of longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Recent polls have found Slotkin leading, but within the margin of error.

Both candidates cast themselves Tuesday as sufficiently bipartisan for a swing state that is one of the premier battlegrounds in this year's race for the presidency and control of the Senate.

“We’re a very purple state — lots of Democrats, lots of Republicans,” Slotkin said. “I was voted the 14th most bipartisan member of Congress.”

Rogers, who served in the House for 14 years, said he “will look for every opportunity to be bipartisan.”

Their sharpest disagreements centered on matters of foreign policy and national