Rep. Elissa Slotkin on Monday launched her bid for the Senate seat being vacated by fellow Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow, making her the first contender in what is likely to be a contested primary in a key 2024 presidential battleground state.
“Look, we all know America is going through something right now. We seem to be living crisis to crisis. But there are certain things that should be really simple,” she said in her campaign launch video.
“This is why I’m running for the United States Senate. We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants.”
The Senate Republican’s campaign arm welcomed the Michigan Democrat into the race calling her a “liberal politician with some serious ethical baggage.”
Ms. Slotkin was re-elected twice in a toss-up district after she initially swept into the House by flipping a red district in 2018 during the Democrats’ blue wave election cycle.
Prior to her life as an elected official, she served as a CIA analyst under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, which she notes in her campaign announcement.
Known among colleagues as a moderate in her party, Ms. Slotkin will likely face more progressive opponents who will challenge some of her stances during the primary.
A prolific fundraiser, Ms. Slotkin, however, has not received “corporate PAC” contributions to her campaign.
When I first ran for office, I pledged never to take a dime of corporate PAC money. That isn’t going to change now that I’m running for the U.S. Senate,” she said in a tweet. “We’re powered by real people, contributing what they can, when they can.”
The congresswoman, whose district’s major cities include Lansing, East Lansing, Brighton and Howell, is expected to begin campaigning in larger metropolitan areas such as Grand Rapids, Flint and Detroit.
Ms. Slotkin has more than a year to make herself known to voters statewide, as the primary is scheduled in August 2024, and it is still not determined who she could be facing.
Several high-profile potential Democratic competitors have already said they would not run for the open Senate seat including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Rep. Haley Stevens and U.S. Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg.
As for Republicans, only Nikki Snyder, a GOP member of the state education board, has announced. Rep. John James, who lost his bid for the Senate to Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat, in 2020 but won a House seat the following cycle, said he had no plans to run.
Other potential Republican candidates being floated include Rep. Lisa McClain, former Rep. Mike Rogers and former Rep. Peter Meijer.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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