Michigan will choose between Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers for US Senate

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers has secured the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan and will face Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the November election.

Slotkin and Rogers, long considered the front-runners for their respective party nominations, will now shift focus to the general election. Slotkin enters with a massive fundraising advantage and emerges nearly unscathed from a sparse primary, while Rogers has the backing of national Republican groups and former President Donald Trump.

Slotkin defeated actor Hill Harper in the Democratic primary, while Republicans chose Rogers over former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash and physician Sherry O’Donnell. Both candidates will now compete for a seat left open by longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s retirement.

The retiring incumbent joined Slotkin onstage at an event in Detroit shortly after the race was called to endorse her. Slotkin praised Stabenow for her years of service before delivering a speech positioning herself as the “normal” and “rational” candidate.

North of Detroit, in Oakland County, Rogers thanked supporters at a watch party for “not giving up on politics.” Like Slotkin, Rogers represented a mid-Michigan swing district in Congress, and he similarly positioned himself as the common sense candidate in his speech. No Republican has won a U.S. Senate race in Michigan since 1994.

With Democrats holding a razor-thin majority in the Senate and Republicans in the House, competitive races like those in Michigan have drawn lots of attention. The state's status as a key presidential swing state raises the stakes for those seats even higher, with party control on the line from the top of the ballot all the way down to the state Legislature.

Michigan’s open Senate seat is one of a handful of races nationwide that will determine control of the upper chamber in November. With a later congressional primary, Slotkin and Rogers will have a short period to transition from competing against their own party members to appealing to a broader base of voters for the Nov. 5 general election, which may explain why they have campaigned with their eyes on the general election.

National groups on both sides have already reserved millions of dollars worth of advertisements after the primary. Both Slotkin and Rogers, viewed for months as the overwhelming favorites in their primaries, have skipped debates and refrained from holding large campaign events.

Several U.S. House seats with primaries on Tuesday could influence the balance of power in the lower chamber, but there, too, the biggest battles will be fought in the fall campaign.

Slotkin’s entry into the Senate race left her mid-Michigan 7th Congressional District seat open, historically one of the nation’s top battleground districts. Both party candidates ran unopposed in their primaries there, setting the table for a November matchup between Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. and Republican Tom Barrett.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee’s retirement will leave an open seat in the 8th Congressional District, which extends northward from the outskirts of Detroit and covers areas such as Flint, Saginaw and Midland. First-term state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who had been endorsed by Kildee, defeated state Board of Education President Pamela Pugh and Matt Collier, the former mayor of Flint, to secure the Democratic nomination.

On the Republican side, former TV anchor Paul Junge defeated Mary Draves, a former chemical manufacturing executive at Dow Inc., and Anthony Hudson to win the GOP nomination. Junge lost to Kildee by over 10 percentage points in 2022.

Meanwhile, several incumbents in battleground districts now have their November matchups set following Tuesday’s primaries.

U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, who in 2022 became the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in decades, will face Paul Hudson, an attorney who defeated Michael Markey Jr. in the western Michigan district's GOP primary.

A district just north of Detroit will see a rematch between freshman GOP Rep. John James and Carl Marlinga, a longtime Macomb County prosecutor who defeated three other Democrats in the primary. Marlinga lost to James by 1,600 votes, and national Democrats have made the seat a top target this cycle.

In a heavily Democratic district encompassing downtown Detroit, U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar defeated Detroit City Council member Mary Waters, who had been endorsed by Mayor Mike Duggan. Thanedar significantly outraised her, and his win likely leaves Detroit — a city that is nearly 80% Black — without Black representation in Congress for a second consecutive term.

Down-ballot races held primaries across the state on Tuesday. Control of the state House of Representatives will be at stake in November, with all 110 seats up for election. Democrats took control of both chambers and the governor's office for the first time in four decades in 2022 and will be trying to defend those majorities.

Associated Press writer Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Former U.S. Rep. and Republican candidate for Michigan Senate Mike Rogers waits to address supporters at a post election gathering, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Lake Orion, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

U.S. Senate candidate, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., left, holds hands with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., at a primary election night event in Detroit, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former U.S. Rep. and Republican candidate for Michigan Senate Mike Rogers talks to supporters at a post election gathering, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Lake Orion, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

U.S. Senate candidate, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., speaks at a primary election night event in Detroit, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., left, speaks in North Charleston, S.C., March 18, 2023, and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., speaks in Rochester, Mich., Dec. 16, 2019. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Riley Adams threw out Alek Thomas trying to steal second base for the final out in the Washington Nationals' 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Thomas had just hit a one-out RBI single, cutting the Nationals' lead to one run.

Tim Tawa, who had singled in the first at-bat of his major league debut, flied out and Kyle Finnegan started Geraldo Perdomo with a 96.5 mph outside fastball.

Adams, the backup catcher to Keibert Ruiz, threw to shortstop CJ Abrams covering second. Abrams took the high throw to his right and swept down to apply the tag to the left hand of the sliding Thomas.

“Obviously they are an aggressive team,” Adams said. “They like to run and try to take advantage of stuff like that. You just have to be ready for that."

Umpire Will Little’s call was upheld by a video review.

“Just putting it down to the base,” Abrams said. “I want to beat his hand to the bag. It was a missile by Riley, so made it easier, and just try to be quick with it.”

Adams, who had gone 0 for 3 with three strikeouts at the plate, earned praise from manager Dave Martinez.

“He came up firing,” Martinez said. “He made an unbelievable throw; pop time was good. Threw right on the base and the tag that CJ put on there was really quick, really firm. Both sides of the play was really good.”

This was the fourth time in Montreal/Washington history a win ended with a caught stealing, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the first since the franchise moved for the 2005 season.

Adams said he has spent extra time working on throws with catching and strategy coach Henry Blanco.

“I’m happy I was able to show up in that moment," Adams said.

Adams has played in two games this season and is 0 for 5 at the plate.

“We talked about this with him,” Martinez said. “You’re a backup catcher. Your job is to catch. Put the right fingers down, get a chance to throw somebody out, that’s his job. If he hits, great."

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Washington Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan, right, and Riley Adams, left, celebrate towards the end of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks before the last out was reviewed and upheld, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas, right, is out trying to steal second base against Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams, second from right, during the ninth inning of a baseball game on a play that was contested by the Diamondbacks but upheld as an out as called on the field, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)