MI-07: Elissa Slotkin (D)
Since winning election in 2018, Elissa Slotkin has worked to defend and expand the middle class. She’s running for reelection in Michigan’s newly formed 7th District to help build the next generation of cars and chips in the U.S., lower the cost of prescription drugs, fight for the Roe standard to preserve women’s personal freedom, and prevent corporate money from warping the political process.
Slotkin grew up on a family farm in Holly, Michigan. Her family story is one of hard work and sacrifice, starting with her great-grandfather. He arrived on Ellis Island and achieved the American dream by founding the family meat business, Hygrade Foods, which established its headquarters in Detroit in 1949.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Slotkin was recruited by the CIA to serve as a Middle East analyst. Within a year, she was sent to serve the first of three tours in Iraq alongside the military.
Slotkin’s tours led to national security roles at the White House under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. She took on a series of leadership roles at the Defense Department, and until January 2017, oversaw defense policy for Africa, the Middle East and Europe at the Pentagon as the acting assistant secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. There, she negotiated some of the Pentagon’s most sensitive national security matters, from the fight against ISIS to the U.S. response to Russian aggression. No matter the issue, it was the values Slotkin learned growing up in Michigan — a straightforward, common-sense approach — that helped her succeed as a national security leader.
Slotkin shares her values and love for public service with her husband Dave, who retired as a U.S. Army Colonel after 30 years of service.
The biographical information above was sourced from the candidate’s campaign website, see links above for more information.
