Elissa Slotkin

Elissa Blair Slotkin (born July 10, 1976) is an American politician and former CIA analyst serving as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 8th congressional district since 2019.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst and Department of Defense official. Her district is based in part of south and southeast Michigan and includes some of Detroit's outer northern and western suburbs and most of the state capital, Lansing.

Elissa Slotkin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 8th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byMike Bishop
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
In office
November 14, 2014 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byDerek Chollet
Succeeded byKenneth Handelman (Acting)
Personal details
Born
Elissa Blair Slotkin

(1976-07-10) July 10, 1976
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
David Moore
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2 stepdaughters
ResidenceHolly, Michigan, U.S.
EducationCornell University (BA)
Columbia University (MIA)
AwardsSecretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and education

Slotkin was born on July 10, 1976, in New York City, the daughter of Curt Slotkin and Judith (née Spitz) Slotkin.[2][3] She is Jewish.[3][4][5][6] Slotkin spent her early life on a farm in Holly, Michigan, roughly two-thirds of the way to Flint from Detroit. She attended Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills. Her family farm was part of Hygrade Meat Company, founded by her grandfather, Hugo Slotkin. Hygrade is the original company behind Ball Park Franks, a brand now owned by Tyson Foods.[7] Her father worked as a meat broker.[8]

She received a BA from Cornell University (1998) and an MIA from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (2003).[9] In 2001, she completed a course in the Arabic language at The American University in Cairo.[9]

Her early employment included: community organizer for Roca, Incorporated (1998–2000) and Swahili translator for Harbor Area Early Childhood (1999–2000), both in Massachusetts; grant writer at Isha L'Isha (he:אשה לאשה - מרכז פמיניסטי חיפה) (meaning 'Woman to Woman' in Hebrew) (2000–2001); and intern at the U.S. Department of State (2002).[9]

Early Career
Slotkin while serving in the Obama administration

Slotkin's professional experience included working for the Central Intelligence Agency as a political analyst (2003–2004) and intelligence briefer (2004–2005).[9] From 2005 to 2006, she was a senior assistant on the staff of the Director of National Intelligence.[9] She was the leader of a CIA assessment team in Iraq from 2006 to 2007 and the National Security Council staff's director for Iraq policy from 2007 to 2009.[9]

From 2009 to 2011, Slotkin was a senior advisor on Iraq policy at the U.S. State Department, and in 2011 she joined the staff of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy as an adviser on Middle East policy.[9] In 2012, Slotkin became chief of staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy, and later that year she was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy.[9] Slotkin was appointed Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in 2013, and in 2014 she was appointed as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.[9] From 2015 to 2017, Slotkin was acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.[9]

After leaving the Defense Department in January 2017, Slotkin moved back to her family's farm in Holly, where she owned and operated Pinpoint Consulting.[10]

Since 2019, she has also been serving on the Transatlantic Task Force of the German Marshall Fund and the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung (BKHS), co-chaired by Karen Donfried and Wolfgang Ischinger.[11]


U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In July 2017, Slotkin announced her candidacy for the 8th district.[12] She has stated that she was motivated to challenge two-term Republican incumbent Mike Bishop when she saw him smile at a White House celebration after he and the Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[13] She faced Michigan State University criminal justice professor Christopher Smith in the Democratic primary. On August 7, she defeated Smith, receiving 70.7% of the votes.[14]

In November 2018, Slotkin defeated Bishop[1] with 50.6% of the vote.[15] She is the first Democrat to represent Michigan's 8th district since 2001.[15]

Tenure

Slotkin was the main sponsor of the 2020 Iran War Powers Resolution, which passed 224–194.[16]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Slotkin is a moderate Democrat.[20][21]

Slotkin supports the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).[22] During her 2020 campaign, she described the protection of health care coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions as the most important issue for her district.[22] She supports allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for those insured by Medicare.[22]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she supported the bipartisan CARES Act relief package, which passed Congress in March 2020. She also voted in May 2020 to support the Heroes Act, a $3 trillion stimulus package that the Republican-led Senate did not take up.[23]

Electoral history
Michigan's 8th congressional district, 2020[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin (incumbent) 217,929 50.9
Republican Paul Junge 202,519 47.3
Libertarian Joe Hartman 7,896 1.8
Total votes 428,344 98
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin 57,819 70.7
Democratic Christopher E. Smith 23,996 29.3
Total votes 81,815 100.0
Michigan's 8th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elissa Slotkin 172,880 50.6
Republican Mike Bishop (incumbent) 159,782 46.8
Libertarian Brian Ellison 6,302 1.8
Taxpayers David Lillis 2,629 0.8
Total votes 341,593 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

Personal life

Her husband, Dave Moore, retired as an Army colonel and Apache helicopter pilot.[25] They met in Baghdad during the Iraq War and reside in Holly.[25] Slotkin has two stepdaughters, one an Army officer and the other a physician.[26]

See also

References
  1. "Democratic ex-CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin defeats Republican Rep. Mike Bishop to claim a Michigan congressional seat". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  3. "Candidate Conversation - Elissa Slotkin (D)". Inside Elections. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  4. "Judith Slotkin loses life to cancer". Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  5. @ElissaSlotkin (June 6, 2018). "Remembering my grandfather, Ted, today on the anniversary of #DDay. The Detroit Free Press ran this article, back in 1944, when he was awarded a Silver Star for his service on the beaches of Normandy:" (Tweet). Retrieved September 26, 2019 – via Twitter.
  6. "These Jewish women are running for office because of Trump". The Times of Israel. August 10, 2017. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  7. "Elissa Slotkin Is Sounding the Alarm. Will Democrats Listen?". politico. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  8. Slotkin, Elissa (June 17, 2018). "My dad, Curt". Medium.
  9. "Biography, Elissa Slotkin". Votesmart.org. Des Moines, IA: Vote Smart. 2018. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  10. Melinn, Kyle (May 3, 2018). "Yes, a Democrat could be our next member of Congress. Her name is Elissa Slotkin. Her game is beating Mike Bishop". City Pulse. Lansing, MI. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  11. The German Marshall Fund and Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung Launch “Transatlantic Task Force” Setting Path Forward for U.S.-Europe Relations Archived December 14, 2019, at the Wayback Machine German Marshall Fund, press release of December 12, 2019.
  12. "Former U.S. Defense official Elissa Slotkin announces Congressional run". MLive.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  13. "Democrat Elissa Slotkin tells of mother's ovarian cancer in new ad". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. "Michigan Primary Election Results". The New York Times. September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  15. Spangler, Todd; Howard, Phoebe Wall; Anderson, Elisha (November 7, 2018). "Elissa Slotkin wins Michigan Congress seat, Mike Bishop concedes". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  16. These Republicans voted yes on the War Powers resolution Archived January 10, 2020, at the Wayback Machine By Clare Foran, Haley Byrd, Holmes Lybrand, & Caroline Kelly, CNN, January 10, 2020
  17. FOX 47 News (January 15, 2019). "Rep. Elissa Slotkin Appointed to House Armed Services Committee". Fox47. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  18. Thompson, Bennie. "Chairman Thompson Announces Homeland Security Committee Democratic Members". U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  19. "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  20. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (December 16, 2019). "Slotkin, Backing Impeachment, Draws Instant Protests, and Applause". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  21. Alberta, Tim. "Elissa Slotkin Braces for a Democratic Civil War". POLITICO. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  22. Scott, Tyler. "Partisanship, coronavirus spending, health care dominate Slotkin-Junge debate". www.michiganradio.org. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  23. "U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin faces challenge from Paul Junge in Michigan's 8th Congressional District". mlive. September 26, 2020. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  24. "Michigan Election Results: Eighth Congressional District". January 5, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  25. Lessenberry, Jack (April 25, 2018). "Hot dogs, the CIA, and Congress". Metro Times. Detroit, MI. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  26. Cavitt, Mark (October 22, 2018). "ELECTION 2018: Elissa Slotkin Q&A". The Oakland Press. Pontiac, MI. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document: "US Department of Defense".

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Mike Bishop		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 8th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Mikie Sherrill		 United States Representatives by seniority
353rd		 Succeeded by
Abigail Spanberger
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