GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Donning a pair of red boxing gloves, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) put up her fists for supporters in Grand Rapids on Sept. 30.
Oftentimes, a sitting member of Congress performing such an act might perplex the unknowing eye.
But in the context of that day, Slotkin's was meant as a gesture of metaphorical strength as she and others in the race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat have hoped to garner support for a key group of voters known for their consistent participation in elections: seniors.
Here in Michigan, the state's population skews older than many other parts of the nation, making the voice of this voting bloc even more outsized.
Census estimates showed almost one in five people in Michigan were 65 or older in 2022, and many in this traditionally reliable demographic are ready to go to the polls in November.
Among the top issues for many seniors is the fate of Social Security and Medicare programs.
In the race for outgoing Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow's seat, both major party candidates have signaled they'd seek to protect them, where their opponent, they've claimed, would work against seniors' interests.
But in this critical swing state race that could determine control of the upper chamber, the fact that both these candidates have served in Congress offers what many feel to be unique insight.
And for some, the pair's records tell a much more nuanced story.
"On the issue of Medicare, prescription drugs, Social Security, the cost of health care in general for seniors, there's a pretty big difference between me and my opponent," Slotkin told reporters at Sept. 30's event branded as 'Seniors for Slotkin.'
Slotkin is facing off against former Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) for the seat. Slotkin has touted things from her time in Congress, including insulin cost caps for seniors and legislation signed by former President Donald Trump meant to mandate price transparency online for prescription drugs.
Slotkin relayed a personal message to those gathered about her experience with caring for her mother with ovarian cancer, saying, "nothing was worse than that first month of feeling desperate about getting care for your mother."
"She needs emergency tests and emergency surgery," Slotkin continued. "And the same week, in the same month that you're doing, that you're filling out the paperwork for her to declare bankruptcy."
But it's not just her speaking to past legislative experience and personal proximity to the issues.
"As a cancer survivor, I can tell you - really, really important that we find solutions for this, and how many families have been devastated by those cancer diagnoses and just the travails of either getting healthy or unfortunately an early demise, you know, crushing on families," Rogers said when he sat down with 13 ON YOUR SIDE at a campaign stop on Oct. 4. "So, we have to find that balance."
"When I was in in the House of Representatives, it was Part D prescription drugs," he said. "[It] was the first time we had comprehensive drug protection, [it] was what we did in the in Congress. [It] saved seniors thousands and thousands of dollars."
But at the time back in the early 2000s, the legislation that created Medicare Part D prohibited the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating the drug prices.
It's a point his opponent has sought to highlight on the campaign trail as her campaign has painted him as an ally of the pharmaceutical industry.
"Guess who else negotiates drug prices? Canada, the UK, pretty much every nation in the world," Slotkin told the crowd last Monday. "And we pay for their cheaper drugs, right? They get to negotiate because their governments do it. We didn't. This makes no sense."
Rogers, however, pushed back on such messaging, asserting that claims against him from the opposing side don't reflect his position.
Rather, he believes Democrats' plans that included giving Medicare negotiating power two years ago have not been the kind of balance needed to support seniors - so much so to the point that costs could backfire on them.
"I believe in the average sales price internationally," Rogers said. "Right now, let's take it- with Ozempic is $800 in the US, it's $80 in France. My argument is they have to pay more so we can pay less. We should not, as Americans, be subsidizing all of our international partners drug prices."
Instead, Rogers offered his own vision.
"What we've got to do is a more moderate or more balanced approach," Rogers said. "So again, we get pharmaceutical companies doing research on the next big cure, as well as making sure our international partners aren't living off of our system and our seniors, which is exactly what they're doing."
It comes, however, as Slotkin has now accepted the endorsement of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
"Here, we have two candidates who have records, voting records," said the committee's President and CEO Max Richmond. "And the way we determine whether we're going to endorse a candidate that is an incumbent: we look at the records."
In Richmond's belief incorporating past legislative tallies, Slotkin's record was superior.
"It's really important that Michigan is represented in the U.S. Senate by a champion for seniors," Richmond said at last Monday's event, just before bestowing Slotkin with the pair of ceremonial boxing gloves to symbolize the fight he hopes she may take to Washington.
But as Rogers spoke to 13 ON YOUR SIDE at a local steakhouse - a staple of Grand Rapidian and even Midwestern community and tabletop discussion - he touched on more universal economic issues that he said hit seniors especially hard.
"We also work on them, on issues that really matter to them every day, like the cost of groceries, the cost of insurance, the cost of your energy bill, your electric bill," Rogers said. "And so all of those things affect seniors disproportionately because so many of them are on a fixed income."
"So if we don't fix those issues, we're going to be in big trouble," he continued. "The Social Security check and increases aren't keeping up with inflation. That's a problem. I hope to go back and work with my colleagues in the Senate to help rectify that."
Rectifying it, in his view, may come in the form of weening the nation off of foreign economic dependency.
"We have got to stop the overspending, overregulation and the fact that we're no longer energy independent," Rogers said.
"We're buying oil from places like Venezuela," he continued, in reference to U.S. imports from the South American nation that, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, had been halted in 2019, but resumed in 2023. "If we don't get away from those things, seniors are going to pay a heavy price."
With endorsement in glove, however, Slotkin rounded out her message to those gathered Monday signaling confidence in a race that all signs suggest will be down to the wire with less than one month to go until Election Day.
"Count me as an ally, count me as someone who knows how to fight, count me as someone who listens and works and, hopefully, count on me as your future senator."