Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) announced on Monday she will be running for Senate, entering a race expected to be a key battleground in the fight to control the chamber in 2024.
Slotkin is the first Democratic name to enter the race for the Michigan seat that opened up in January after Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced she will not seek re-election in 2024.
Stabenow’s seat will be crucial for Democrat’s efforts to hold on to the Senate and maintain a majority.
“We all know America is going through something right now. We seem to be living crisis to crisis,” Slotkin said in a video announcing her campaign. “But there are certain things that should be really simple, like living a middle-class life in the state that invented the middle class.”
“This is why I’m running for the United States Senate,” she added. “We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants.”
Slotkin — a former CIA intelligence officer and third-term representative — is considered one of the favorites to replace the out-going senator in what is expected to be a high-profile race.
Currently, her only other opponent in the race is Republican Nikki Snyder, a member of the State Board of Education.
“Look, our country is going to get through this. It’s hard work, but that’s what Michiganders do,” Slotkin said in her video.
I was rather hoping Gretchen Whitmer would run, which may of course still happen. She’s better known state-wide and she’s also more progressive than Slotkin. The race for this nomination may be divisive and therefore problematic for Democrats in Michigan.
Edit: actually Whitmer’s current term runs until 2026, so never mind…
I still think she’d make a great senator
Whatever it takes to keep Republicans out of office.
“Elissa” will be the most Gen Y name in the Senate.
While the Bernie/AOC wing may prefer a more doctrinaire “progressive,” Slotkin appears to be the type of moderately liberal Democrat who is best positioned to win a general election in Michigan.