Rep. Elissa Slotkin announces bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan

Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan officially launched her bid for the open U.S. Senate seat in the state, one of the most closely-watched Senate races in 2024.

“Look, we all know America is going through something right now,” Slotkin said in the video. “We seem to be living crisis-to-crisis.”

In the ad, Slotkin highlighted her time in the U.S. military, working for the CIA and for the Bush and Obama administrations. 

Michigan’s longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, 72, announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection. Stabenow’s call for a “new generation of leaders” was echoed by Slotkin in her campaign video. 

Stabenow’s decision not to run again fueled speculation about who might run to replace her, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who recently moved to Michigan, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Rep. Haley Stevens said over the past few weeks that they would not seek the seat.

Before Slotkin was elected to Congress, she was a Middle East analyst in the CIA and went to Iraq with the U.S. military for three tours as a militia expert. She also worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and was an acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. 

Slotkin was first elected to Michigan’s 7th District in 2018 and won reelection twice, including a tough campaign last year against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett, who denied the results of the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump flipped Michigan red in 2016 but the state went for President Joe Biden in 2020. In 2022, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer led a slate of statewide Democrats to victory in Michigan, in an election with the largest turnout in a midterm year in history. 

While Democrats managed to pick up a Senate seat in 2022, increasing their majority to 51-49, the seats up in 2024 are far less favorable to the party. Democrats will be forced to defend 24 seats, including in Republican-leaning states like Montana, West Virginia and Ohio. Republicans are defending only 10 seats in red states. 

Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.