Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) announced on Monday she will be running for Senate, entering a race expected to be a key battleground in the fight to control the chamber in 2024.
Slotkin is the first Democratic name to enter the race for the Michigan seat that opened up in January after Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced she will not seek re-election in 2024.
Stabenow’s seat will be crucial for Democrat’s efforts to hold on to the Senate and maintain a majority.
“We all know America is going through something right now. We seem to be living crisis to crisis,” Slotkin said in a video announcing her campaign. “But there are certain things that should be really simple, like living a middle-class life in the state that invented the middle class.”
“This is why I’m running for the United States Senate,” she added. “We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants.”
Slotkin — a former CIA intelligence officer and third-term representative — is considered one of the favorites to replace the out-going senator in what is expected to be a high-profile race.
Currently, her only other opponent in the race is Republican Nikki Snyder, a member of the State Board of Education.
“Look, our country is going to get through this. It’s hard work, but that’s what Michiganders do,” Slotkin said in her video.
