(WXYZ) — Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat who represents Michigan's 7th Congressional District, is entering the race for U.S. Senate in 2024. She's seeking the seat that is being vacated by Debbie Stabenow.
Slotkin is the first Democrat to announce her plan to run for the open seat, and will likely be a front-runner in the Democratic Party.
The 46-year-old was elected to her third term in Congress last year, and flipped one of Michigan's Republican congressional seats to a Democratic seat in the 2018 election.
She won re-election in 2022 in the one of the most expensive House races in the U.S., beating out Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett.
Slotkin is also a former CIA intelligence officer and she also worked for the National Security Council during President George W. Bush's administration.
Nikki Snyder, a Republican State Board of Education member, this month became the first candidate to announce a run for Stabenow’s seat, but a high-profile candidate has yet to enter the race.
The dean of Michigan Democrats, the 72-year-old Stabenow shocked many in the party when she announced last month that she would not be seeking a fifth term, saying she had “decided to pass the torch” to a new generation of leaders.
With Michigan having one of the deepest Democratic benches in the country, many expected the primary to be highly competitive. But in the days leading up to Slotkin’s announcement, multiple high-profile candidates withdrew their names from consideration.
Former Rep. Peter Meijer, who lost his Republican primary last year after voting to impeach President Donald Trump in 2021, is still considering a GOP run for the seat.
Republicans have taken just one of Michigan’s last 15 Senate races, winning an open seat in 1994.
