Elissa Blair Slotkin ( ; born July 10, 1976) is an American politician and former Department of Defense official serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the United States House of Representatives from 2019 to 2025.
Slotkin was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst and Department of Defense (DoD) official, ending her career there as the acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In 2018, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district.
Slotkin was elected to the Senate in 2024, defeating Republican nominee Mike Rogers in a close race. She became the second female senator from Michigan after Debbie Stabenow. She is expected to become Michigan's senior senator when Gary Peters retires in 2027.
Early life and education Elissa Slotkin was born on July 10, 1976, in New York City, the daughter of Judith (née Spitz) Slotkin and Curt Slotkin. She 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 great-grandfather Samuel Slotkin, who emigrated from Minsk in 1900. Hygrade was the original company behind Ball Park Franks, which is now owned by Tyson Foods. Judith and Curt divorced, and Judith came out as gay, in 1986, during the peak of the AIDS epidemic. Slotkin and her brother moved in with their mom. Their home was a gathering place for Detroit's covert but vibrant LGBTQ+ community. Her father was a longtime Republican and Ronald Reagan supporter whose worldview she agreed with during her childhood. Slotkin has said that she became a Democrat because of the Reagan administration's indifference to the widespread suffering of those with AIDS, which greatly affected her.
Slotkin attended the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences school at Cornell University, where in 1998 she earned a Bachelor of Arts in rural sociology.
In 2003, Slotkin earned a master of international affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Early career
Slotkin joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002, following the September 11 attacks. Fluent in Arabic and Swahili, she served three tours in Iraq alongside the military as a CIA analyst. She described her role as an expert on Iraqi Shia militias. 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. From 2015 to 2017, Slotkin was acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, where one of her responsibilities was securing Israel's Qualitative Military Edge.
After leaving the Defense Department in January 2017, Slotkin moved back to her family's farm in Holly, Michigan, where she set up a consulting business.
U.S. House of Representatives Elections
2018 In July 2017, Slotkin announced her candidacy for Michigan's 8th congressional district. 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. On August 7, Slotkin defeated Michigan State University criminal justice professor Christopher Smith in the Democratic primary with 70.7% of the vote.
In November 2018, Slotkin defeated Bishop with 50.6% of the vote. She is the first Democrat to represent Michigan's 8th district since 2001, when Debbie Stabenow gave up the seat to run for the U. S. Senate.
2020
Slotkin was reelected with 50.9% of the vote, defeating Republican Paul Junge.
At a Jewish Democratic conference in July 2019, Slotkin accused the Republican Party of using opposition to antisemitism as a strategy to bring the Jewish community into their fold. She argued that Republicans were not primarily seeking Jewish votes, because "we are a relatively small community", but rather aiming to "sway" the community's donors. Republican Jewish leadership criticized her remarks. In 2019, Slotkin held several town halls about her decision to vote in favor of President Donald Trump's impeachment. The meetings drew hundreds of protesters and received nationwide media coverage.
Slotkin adapted to campaigning during the COVID-19 pandemic by holding campaign events both virtually and socially distanced with contactless door canvassing and by running advertisements on gasoline pumps.
2022
Due to redistricting, Slotkin's district was renumbered as the 7th district. She defeated Republican nominee Tom Barrett with 51.5% of the vote to Barrett's 46.5%. The general election was the most expensive U.S. House race of 2022, with Slotkin raising $9.8 million.
Slotkin criticized Barrett's stance on abortion, specifically his statement that he is "100% pro-life, no exceptions". She also criticized his multiple votes against incentives for a new General Motors electric vehicle battery plant in Delta Township. After the election and before her February 2023 divorce, Slotkin moved back to her family farm in Holly, in Michigan's 9th congressional district.
Slotkin attributed her 2022 victory to "losing better" in the district's Republican-leaning areas. She described her district as "pro-life" and said that, while she ran one pro-choice ad, she ran four on the economy.
Tenure Upon her election in 2018, Slotkin and fellow moderate freshmen women from competitive districts with national security backgrounds Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, Elaine Luria, and Chrissy Houlahan, were described as a "mod squad" counterweight to the progressive "Squad".
In September 2019, Slotkin and six other freshman House Democrats wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post calling for an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Its publication led to widespread Democratic support for an impeachment inquiry. Slotkin voted to impeach Trump in both his first and second impeachments.
Committee assignments Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on Readiness (vice chair) Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence (chair) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
Caucus memberships Black Maternal Health Caucus Congressional Ukraine Caucus New Democrat Coalition Problem Solvers Caucus Rare Disease Caucus
U.S. Senate
Elections
2024
On February 27, 2023, Slotkin announced her candidacy in the 2024 Michigan U.S. Senate election after Debbie Stabenow announced that she would vacate the seat. She won the Democratic primary on August 6, 2024, with 76% of the vote, and defeated Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the general election, outperforming the top of the ticket.
Tenure
Early in 2025, Slotkin was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act. After Trump's 2025 State of the Union address, she gave the official Democratic response. She called Trump's economic policies reckless, accused him of favoring billionaires at the expense of ordinary Americans, warned of rising costs and increased national debt, and said President Ronald Reagan would be "rolling in his grave" if he saw Trump cozying up to Vladimir Putin.
Slotkin was one of seven Senate Democrats who voted to confirm Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Slotkin called for waiting for intelligence to assess the effects of the June 2025 bombing of Iran, and on June 28, after receiving the Senate briefing on the attack, gave her rationale in more detail in an interview.Rosenberg, Simon, "Time For Democrats To Go Offense" - My Conversation With Senator Elissa Slotkin, Hopium Chronicles, Substack, June 28, 2025
In June 2025, Slotkin presented an "economic war plan" at the Center for American Progress, arguing that the decline of the middle class was America's greatest security threat and that Democrats needed to get back their "alpha energy". In September, she spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations, calling for a focus on middle-class economics and arguing that national security strategy must "first, protect U.S. citizens, the homeland, and our way of life. And second, advance American prosperity."
In October, Slotkin spoke at the Brookings Institution and said President Trump's actions were following an "authoritarian playbook". In November, she was one of six Democratic lawmakers to be part of a video telling service members they can refuse illegal orders. Trump called those in the video, including Slotkin, traitors who should be charged with sedition punishable by death, and shared a social media post calling for them to be hanged. Later that month, Slotkin's home received a bomb threat. In January 2026, Slotkin said she was under federal investigation due to the video.
Committee assignments Source:
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee on Commodities, Derivatives, Risk Management, and Trade Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety (Ranking Member) Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland Subcommittee on Cybersecurity Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities (Ranking Member) Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Subcommittee on Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Political positions
Slotkin has been described as a moderate Democrat. According to GovTrack's 2022 scorecard, she was the fifth-most conservative House Democrat. She was ranked among the most bipartisan members of the House.
Abortion In 2024, Slotkin said she supported federal legislation to codify the abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade. She was endorsed by pro-choice organizations Reproductive Freedom for All and Planned Parenthood Action Fund during her 2024 race for U.S. Senate.
Campaign finance policy In 2022, Slotkin co-sponsored the Ban Corporate PACs Act, which, if enacted, would prevent corporations from operating a political action committee.
Criminal justice Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020, Slotkin co-sponsored and voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. She voted in favor of the bill again in 2021. Slotkin voted for a bill to overturn DC criminal code modernization which was signed into law by Biden.
Slotkin opposes abolishing the death penalty. She has said it should be used in rare cases.
Economic policy During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Slotkin supported the bipartisan CARES Act relief package, which passed in March 2020. In May 2020, she voted for the HEROES Act, a $3trillion stimulus package. In November 2021, she voted for the Build Back Better Act.
In August 2022, Slotkin voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. In May 2025, she was the only Senate Democrat to vote for a bill that would prevent California from banning the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. She said she had a "special responsibility" to stand up for over 1 million Michiganders employed by the auto industry.
Foreign policy