Michigan's two major-party candidates for attorney general staked out opposing positions on the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline and artificial intelligence regulation in their first televised debate Sunday, Sept. 27.

Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, the Democrat, pledged to continue the state's lawsuit seeking to shut down Line 5 and to issue AI consumer-protection rules within his first 100 days. Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, the Republican, said he would drop the pipeline litigation, warning it threatens heating costs for families in the Upper Peninsula.

"We need to have oil there … The people in the Upper Peninsula need to know that they're going to be able to heat their homes," Lloyd said. He made the remarks during the roughly 30-minute debate on WDIV-TV, hosted by Jason Colthorp and first reported by the Lansing State Journal.

The race to succeed term-limited Attorney General Dana Nessel heads to voters Nov. 3. Five candidates are on the ballot, including Libertarian Jason Dye, U.S. Taxpayers Party nominee John Ludtke Jr. and Green Party nominee Jeff Polonowski.

Line 5 divide

The pipeline fight has local roots. Nessel filed the original Line 5 lawsuit in Ingham County Circuit Court in 2019, seeking to shut down a section of the pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac. A federal district court later ruled that federal pipeline safety law preempted Michigan's authority to order a shutdown. Michigan is appealing that ruling before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to Michigan Public Radio.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided with Michigan in a separate jurisdictional dispute. The court ruled Enbridge waited too long to move Nessel's state-court case to federal court. That case was sent back to Ingham County Circuit Court.

Savit called the federal preemption ruling "an absolutely disastrous decision" and vowed to fight to overturn it. Lloyd argued the split reflected the difference between "political activists and people who actually get out in the world."

AI and consumer protection

Savit said he would use the Consumer Protection Act to regulate AI practices such as surveillance pricing and deceptive marketing. Lloyd credited Nessel for pursuing litigation against Meta over child safety and said the next attorney general must hold Big Tech accountable for protecting kids.

Michigan reached a $171 million settlement with Meta in August as part of a 47-state agreement, according to CBS News Detroit. The lawsuit alleged Meta used its platforms to entice and ensnare young users.

Both candidates said they would push back on price gouging, with Lloyd naming "big energy, big pharma, big tech" as targets. Savit said he would refuse campaign contributions from utilities or their political action committees and would work to keep residential ratepayers from bearing the cost of data center energy use.

Prosecutorial records

The debate also touched on each candidate's record as a county prosecutor. Savit defended his office's policies on no cash bail and declining to prosecute certain low-level offenses, saying those decisions freed resources for serious crimes. Lloyd, asked about Detroit Metro Times reporting on plea deals in domestic violence and sex crime cases, pointed to his 30 years of experience and thousands of cases handled.

Both said they would investigate state agencies under a governor of either party if warranted.

The online voter registration deadline for the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 19.