Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), fresh off a tough reelection race for her House seat, announced on Monday that she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in 2024.
Slotkin’s announcement came in a video she posted on Twitter, stating that she was running for the spot because the country needs a new generation of leaders, echoing what Stabenow said when she announced her retirement.
“We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants. Look, our country is going to get through this. It’s hard work, but that’s what Michiganders do,” Slotkin stated. “We need engaged citizens and principled leaders because together, there is no problem we cannot solve.”
Today, I’m announcing my run to be Michigan’s next U.S. Senator.
We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are *public servants* pic.twitter.com/L8cLgEUwnA
— Elissa Slotkin (@ElissaSlotkin) February 27, 2023
Coming barely three months after she was in a tough reelection spot, the congresswoman’s announcement does not surprise many after Stabenow announced earlier this year that she would not be seeking reelection and would retire at the end of her current term in January 2025.
The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC), which is charged with getting Republicans elected to the upper chamber, is already taking aim at Slotkin. Maggie Abboud, the NRSC spokeswoman, said, “Elissa Slotkin is a liberal politician with some serious ethical baggage.” Abboud’s statement also referred to many of the controversies that happened during the campaign season.
As Breitbart News noted in January, Michigan not having an incumbent Democrat senator could help the Republicans’ chances across the state, while a GOP candidate for Senate and president would be at the top of the ticket. In the last presidential election, President Joe Biden only won in the state with roughly 50.5 percent.
In the next election cycle, 23 of the 33 Senate seats up for reelection are currently held by Democrats or left-leaning Independents. Former President Donald Trump won six of those states by double digits in at least one of his presidential elections.
However, after the last controversial campaign season, Slotkin and her husband got a divorce after 12 years of marriage. The two announced via a joint statement to the Detroit Free Press, claiming that “after careful consideration,” they “reached this decision together after much reflection, and we do it on agreeable terms.”
It followed very public controversy during the last campaign cycle when she was living in residence owned by Jerry Hollister, a “lobbyist,” who is a “part-time” corporate “executive” for a pharmaceutical manufacturer receiving millions in federal funding — and has donated to her campaign — to run for the new congressional seat.
At the time, the “lobbyist” and his family were registered to vote at the same residence where Slotkin resided.
When Slotkin was confronted about the situation during a television debate with her Republican opponent, state Sen. Tom Barrett, she responded to the news anchor asking the questions, calling the attacks a “political desperation” since she claimed to be paying fair market value.
Slotkin’s Republican opponent attacked her by saying there were over 1,500 available apartments in Lansing, Michigan, at the time, yet Slotkin was living in the one owned by the executive who donated to her campaign.
Following the controversy, Slotkin triumphed over Barrett to win reelection in Michigan’s Seventh Congressional District in one of the most intense and expensive races anywhere in the country, as Breitbart News reported.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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