Elissa Slotkin
Elissa Slotkin, official portrait, 116th Congress.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byMike Bishop
Constituency
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
In office
November 14, 2014 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byDerek Chollet
Succeeded byKenneth Handelman (Acting)
Personal details
Born
Elissa Blair Slotkin

(1976-07-10) July 10, 1976 (age 46)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
David Moore
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2 stepdaughters
Residence(s)Holly, Michigan, U.S.
EducationCornell University (BA)
Columbia University (MIA)
AwardsSecretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service
WebsiteHouse website

Elissa Blair Slotkin (born July 10, 1976) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 7th congressional district since 2023. She represented the 8th district from 2019 to 2023, before redistricting.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst and Department of Defense official. Her district is based in Lansing, and stretches into the outer northern and western suburbs of Detroit. She chairs the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism in the House Committee on Homeland Security.[2]

Early life and education

Slotkin was born on July 10, 1976, in New York City, the daughter of Curt Slotkin and Judith (née Spitz) Slotkin.[3][4] She is Jewish.[4][5][6] Slotkin spent her early life on a farm in Holly, Michigan. She attended Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills. Her family farm was part of Hygrade Meat Company, founded by her grandfather, Hugo Slotkin. Hygrade is the original company behind Ball Park Franks, a brand now owned by Tyson Foods.[7]

Slotkin received a BA in sociology from Cornell University (1998) and an MIA from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (2003).[8]

Early career

Slotkin while serving in the Obama administration
Slotkin while serving in the Obama administration

Slotkin was recruited into the Central Intelligence Agency after graduate school. Fluent in Arabic and Swahili, she served three tours in Iraq as a CIA analyst. During the George W. Bush administration, she worked on the Iraq portfolio for the National Security Council. During Barack Obama's presidency, she worked for the State Department and the Department of Defense.[7] Slotkin was acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 2015 to 2017.[9]

After leaving the Defense Department in January 2017, Slotkin moved back to her family's farm in Holly, where she owned and operated Pinpoint Consulting.[10] Since 2019, she has served on the Transatlantic Task Force of the German Marshall Fund and the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung.[11]

U.S. House of Representatives

Slotkin with Gretchen Whitmer and Paul D. Rogers in 2020
Slotkin with Gretchen Whitmer and Paul D. Rogers in 2020
Slotkin with President Joe Biden, Denis McDonough, Kathleen Rice, and Mikie Sherrill in 2021
Slotkin with President Joe Biden, Denis McDonough, Kathleen Rice, and Mikie Sherrill in 2021

Elections

2018

See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan § District 8

In July 2017, Slotkin announced her candidacy for Michigan's 8th congressional district.[12] She said she was motivated to challenge two-term Republican incumbent Mike Bishop when she saw him smile at a White House celebration after he and House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[13] On August 7, she defeated Michigan State University criminal justice professor Christopher Smith in the Democratic primary, with 70.7% of the vote.[14]

In November 2018, Slotkin defeated Bishop[1] with 50.6% of the vote.[15] She is the first Democrat to represent Michigan's 8th district since 2001,[15] when Debbie Stabenow gave up the seat to run for the U. S. Senate.

2020

See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan § District 8

Slotkin was reelected in 2020 with 50.9% of the vote, defeating Republican Paul Junge.[16]

2022

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan § District 7

Due to redistricting, Slotkin ran for reelection in Michigan's 7th congressional district. In the general election, which was the most expensive U.S. House race of 2022,[17] she defeated Republican nominee Tom Barrett.[18]

Tenure

In September 2019, Slotkin and six other freshman House Democrats authored an opinion piece in The Washington Post calling for an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Its publication led to widespread Democratic support for an impeachment inquiry.[19][20] Slotkin voted for Trump's first and second impeachments.

Slotkin was the main sponsor of the 2020 Iran War Powers Resolution, which passed 224–194.[21]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Slotkin has been described as a moderate Democrat.[20][26] As of October 2022, Slotkin has voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[27]

Health care

Slotkin supports the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). During her 2020 campaign, she described the protection of health care coverage for individuals with preexisting conditions as the most important issue for her district. She supports allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for those insured by Medicare.[28]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Slotkin supported the bipartisan CARES Act relief package, which passed Congress in March 2020. In May 2020, she voted for the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion stimulus package.[29]

Slotkin was a co-sponsor of the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which provided funding for veterans exposed to toxic substances during military service.[30]

Gun policy

In 2022, Slotkin voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.[31][32]

Abortion

Slotkin supports legal access to abortion.[33]

Campaign finance reform

In 2022, Slotkin signed onto the Ban Corporate PACs Act, which if enacted would prevent corporations from operating a political action committee.[34]

Electoral history

Michigan's 7th congressional district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin 192,809 51.7
Republican Tom Barrett 172,624 46.3
Libertarian Leah Dailey 7,275 1.9
Total votes 372,708 100.0


Michigan's 8th congressional district, 2020[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin (incumbent) 217,929 50.9
Republican Paul Junge 202,519 47.3
Libertarian Joe Hartman 7,896 1.8
Total votes 428,344 98
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin 57,819 70.7
Democratic Christopher E. Smith 23,996 29.3
Total votes 81,815 100.0
Michigan's 8th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin 172,880 50.6
Republican Mike Bishop (incumbent) 159,782 46.8
Libertarian Brian Ellison 6,302 1.8
Constitution David Lillis 2,629 0.8
Total votes 341,593 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

Personal life

Slotkin's husband, Dave Moore, retired as an Army colonel and Apache helicopter pilot.[36] They met in Baghdad during the Iraq War and reside in Holly.[36] Slotkin has two stepdaughters, one an Army officer and the other a physician.[37]

See also

References

Specific
  1. ^ a b "Democratic ex-CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin defeats Republican Rep. Mike Bishop to claim a Michigan congressional seat". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "Committees". Representative Elissa Slotkin. December 13, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Candidate Conversation - Elissa Slotkin (D)". Inside Elections. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "Judith Slotkin loses life to cancer". March 24, 2011. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "These Jewish women are running for office because of Trump". The Times of Israel. August 10, 2017. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Alberta, Tim (July 10, 2020). "Elissa Slotkin Is Sounding the Alarm. Will Democrats Listen?". Politico. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  8. ^ Wasserman, David (August 4, 2017). "House: Can Democrats Dodge the Carpetbagger Label in 2018?". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Howard, Phoebe Wall (November 9, 2018). "Why Elissa Slotkin took heat from angry Democrats during her campaign". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Melinn, Kyle (May 3, 2018). "Yes, a Democrat could be our next member of Congress. Her name is Elissa Slotkin. Her game is beating Mike Bishop". City Pulse. Lansing, Michigan. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  11. ^ "The German Marshall Fund and Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung Launch" (Press release). German Marshall Fund. December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019.
  12. ^ "Former U.S. Defense official Elissa Slotkin announces Congressional run". MLive.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "Democrat Elissa Slotkin tells of mother's ovarian cancer in new ad". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. ^ "Michigan Primary Election Results". The New York Times. September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Spangler, Todd; Howard, Phoebe Wall; Anderson, Elisha (November 7, 2018). "Elissa Slotkin wins Michigan Congress seat, Mike Bishop concedes". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  16. ^ Spangler, Todd. "Slotkin wins reelection in 8th Congressional District". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  17. ^ "Slotkin-Barrett race draws big money, interest with Congress up for grabs | Bridge Michigan". www.bridgemi.com. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  18. ^ Burr, Alyssa; Miller, Matthew (November 9, 2022). "Slotkin wins tight race in the 7th Congressional District". mlive. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  19. ^ Pathé, Simone (December 16, 2019). "Facing pro-Trump chants, Elissa Slotkin explains support for impeachment". Roll Call. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (December 16, 2019). "Slotkin, Backing Impeachment, Draws Instant Protests, and Applause". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  21. ^ Foran, Clare; Byrd, Haley; Lybrand, Holmes; Kelly, Caroline (January 10, 2020). "These Republicans voted yes on the War Powers resolution". CNN. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h "Committees and Caucuses". U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  24. ^ "Featured Members". Problem Solvers Caucus. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  25. ^ "Members". August 19, 2021.
  26. ^ Alberta, Tim (November 13, 2020). "Elissa Slotkin Braces for a Democratic Civil War". Politico. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  27. ^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  28. ^ Scott, Tyler (September 22, 2020). "Partisanship, coronavirus spending, health care dominate Slotkin-Junge debate". www.michiganradio.org. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  29. ^ Barrett, Malachi (September 26, 2020). "U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin faces challenge from Paul Junge in Michigan's 8th Congressional District". Mlive. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  30. ^ Begay, Melorie (July 31, 2022). "Veteran burn pit exposure bill gets second chance in U.S. Senate, Rep. Slotkin reacts". WKAR. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  31. ^ McKend, Daniella Diaz,Annie Grayer,Eva (July 29, 2022). "House passes assault-style weapons ban | CNN Politics". CNN.
  32. ^ "H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 -- House Vote #410 -- Jul 29, 2022". GovTrack.us.
  33. ^ Nichols, Hans (September 8, 2022). "Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin is leaving the abortion messaging to national Dems". Axios.
  34. ^ "Slotkin co-sponsors anti-corporate PAC bill". WLNS 6 News. June 2, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  35. ^ "Michigan Election Results: Eighth Congressional District". The New York Times. January 5, 2021.
  36. ^ a b Lessenberry, Jack (April 25, 2018). "Hot dogs, the CIA, and Congress". Metro Times. Detroit, MI. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  37. ^ Cavitt, Mark (October 22, 2018). "ELECTION 2018: Elissa Slotkin Q&A". The Oakland Press. Pontiac, MI. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
General

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the US Department of Defense. October 2018.

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U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byMike Bishop Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Michigan's 8th congressional district 2019–present Incumbent U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) Preceded byMikie Sherrill United States representatives by seniority 279th Succeeded byAbigail Spanberger
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