Republicans have been fanning fears about China’s influence in supply chains for electric vehicles in races across the battleground state of Michigan, putting pro-EV Democrats in a tough spot.
GOP contenders — from the presidential campaign trail to House and Senate contests across the Great Lakes state — are directing attacks at a planned EV battery plant in rural western Michigan where Gotion, the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese battery company Gotion High-tech, is facing protests, lawsuits and accusations of being a security threat.
Some Democrats trying to boost messaging on jobs and Inflation Reduction Act benefits are now distancing themselves from the $2.36 billion project near Big Rapids. Others are using the issue to attack their Republican challengers.
Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who’s locked in a tight Senate race with former Rep. Mike Rogers to replace incumbent Debbie Stabenow, told reporters last week that national security vetting needs to be conducted before any decisions are made about the Gotion EV battery plant in Green Charter Township.
“To me, until there’s a national security vetting, I don’t love the idea of moving forward on any project or any sale of farmland” to a Chinese entity, Slotkin said.
Michigan’s role as both a key battleground state and a hub for the automotive sector is amplifying messaging around the role of China, which dominates raw materials like cobalt and nickel needed to fuel supply chains.
Republicans have been ramping up warnings that companies with links to countries like China could secure incentives under the IRA. That includes the highly touted 30D tax credit providing up to $7,500 for EVs that meet specific material and mineral requirements.
The House, as part of a China-focused week, approved two bills related to batteries and the Democrats’ 2022 climate law. They both received bipartisan support.
Gotion, which has said it’s considering whether to pursue IRA tax credits, declined to comment when asked about the political brawls.
Rogers, a Republican who’s running against Slotkin for a Senate seat with former President Donald Trump’s blessing, recently launched a series of ads accusing her of supporting Gotion and signing a nondisclosure agreement with the company.
“Slotkin even signed a secret deal to help a Chinese company, taking away jobs from Michigan workers,” Rogers says in one ad.
But Antoine Givens, a spokesperson for Slotkin’s campaign, said Rogers’ accusations have been repeatedly debunked and emphasized that Slotkin has combated China’s rising influence.
Last week, the congresswoman introduced H.R. 9454, a bill that would bar the operation on federal property of vehicles designed by, developed by or with ties to countries of concern.
“As a national security expert, Rep. Slotkin has dedicated her career to protecting the U.S. from foreign threats, and in Congress, she has been leading the charge to combat Chinese influence in critical supply chains and the auto industry,” said Givens. “Rep. Slotkin never signed any agreement related to the Gotion project or the Chinese government.”
Several polls have Slotkin slightly ahead of Rogers, but the race remains competitive. She also had significantly more cash on hand in the most recent campaign finance reports — $8.7 million versus $2.5 million.
In the presidential race, Trump has voiced his opposition to Gotion on social media, linking the project to China.
And during a recent rally near the site, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, blasted Vice President Kamala Harris for casting the tiebreaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes provisions to promote the domestic supply of EV components. Harris’ campaign did not respond.
“Kamala Harris doesn’t just want to allow the Communist Chinese Party to build factories on American soil, she wants to pay them to do it with our tax money,” Vance said last month at the Majestic Friesians Horse Farm near the Gotion site.
House races
Democrats are largely responding to attacks on Gotion by rallying around the need for jobs. In a competitive race in Michigan’s 3rd District — which stretches across the western portion of the state and includes Grand Rapids — Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten has cautioned against blocking the project. She’s the front-runner in a tight race with Republican attorney Paul Hudson.
“Electric vehicle manufacturing, including the batteries and parts that go in them, is a key component of the future of auto manufacturing. These jobs are getting created. The question is, are they going to exist in China or are they going to exist in America. I personally want them here in Michigan,” Scholten told POLITICO’s E&E News.
“We’re not going to turn away jobs based on a bunch of hyped-up, tinfoil hat theories — we’re going to make smart economic decisions that advantage the US economy, and we’re going to do it based on facts.”
Hudson said, “I’m disappointed in Representative Scholten’s breezy dismissal of the serious issues at stake here. People are rightly concerned about China’s aggressive actions both on the world stage and right here in West Michigan.
“The Gotion episode has revealed deep failures in our process for screening these sorts of projects at both the state and federal level.”
The same dynamics are playing out in a race involving one of Capitol Hill’s most outspoken critics of Gotion.
Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, who’s leading a campaign to investigate and blacklist China-linked EV battery companies in the Great Lakes state, is expected to win reelection in the 2nd District, which spans a large swath of western Michigan and would be home to the Gotion plant.
Moolenaar has waged a public campaign for months against Gotion and other companies with ties to China angling to build EV battery plants, an effort he doubled down on when picked to lead the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
In July he held a roundtable in Green Charter Township alongside Republican Rep. Darin LaHood of Illinois to raise concerns about Gotion’s parent company and its possible connection to labor concerns and national security.
But Michael Lynch, a professor and manager of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan who is running against Moolenaar, told POLITICO’s E&E News that the congressman should be supporting companies like Gotion, not demonizing them for their links to China.
The project has come under attack even though it would create jobs in Mecosta County, said Lynch, noting that it ranks eighth among the poorest counties in the state.
“As Mecosta County ranks within the 10 Michigan counties with the highest level of poverty, adding good-paying jobs to this area will be essential to the growth of this community,” said Lynch.
“John Moolenaar currently holds the seat in the Second Congressional District,” Lynch continued. “He is the only member of the House Appropriations Committee from Michigan. His job should be to try to bring good-paying jobs to Michigan, not stand in the way.”
Ashton Maloney, a spokesperson for Moolenaar’s campaign, said the congressman is focused on protecting the American people from the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
Maloney said Moolenaar introduced a bill last year, H.R. 6175, the “NO GOTION Act,” that would halt federal “giveaways” to companies like Gotion. The bill would bar EV battery makers with connections to China and Russia from securing tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.
“He opposes the Biden-Harris policies that take money from Michigan families and [give] it to [Chinese Communist Party] companies,” said Maloney. “Their policy is unfair and wrong for our country.”
CATL fight, China week bills
Lynch shot back that the best auto battery technology currently comes from China and that he also supports a separate EV project that Moolenaar has attempted to block: Ford’s plans to build an EV factory near Marshall, Michigan, with the use of technology from China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s largest producer of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.
“I applaud Ford for wanting to access the best technology available,” said Lynch.
The House on Monday approved H.R. 8631, the “Decoupling From Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act,” to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from buying batteries from six companies with China ties — including CATL. Co-sponsored by Moolenaar, it passed by voice vote.
The House on Thursday passed H.R. 7980, which would bar EV credits for cars with materials from a “prohibited foreign entity.” Democrats said it would hamper electrification efforts. Slotkin and Scholten voted no.
