Elissa Slotkin | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Mike Bishop |
Constituency |
|
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs | |
In office November 14, 2014 – January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Derek Chollet |
Succeeded by | Kenneth Handelman (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Elissa Blair Slotkin July 10, 1976 New York City, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | David Moore (m. 2017) |
Children | 2 stepdaughters |
Residence(s) | Holly, Michigan, U.S. |
Education | Cornell University (BA) Columbia University (MIA) |
Awards | Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service |
Website | House 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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
In 2022, Slotkin voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.[31][32]
Slotkin supports legal access to abortion.[33]
In 2022, Slotkin signed onto the Ban Corporate PACs Act, which if enacted would prevent corporations from operating a political action committee.[34]
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 |
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 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Elissa Slotkin | 57,819 | 70.7 | |
Democratic | Christopher E. Smith | 23,996 | 29.3 | |
Total votes | 81,815 | 100.0 |
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 |
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]