Elissa Slotkin kicks off U.S. Senate campaign in Detroit

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin officially launched her U.S. Senate campaign at an event in Detroit on Thursday.

She hopes to succeed longtime U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, who announced in January that she would not seek re-election in 2024.

Speaking to reporters in front of the Spirit of Detroit, Slotkin says her message remains the same no matter who she represents in Washington, D.C.

“Obviously there’s gonna be issues, particularly here in Detroit, that are going to be different than rural upstate Michigan,” says Slotkin. “But the way I talk about things in the focus that I put on things, to me, I just tell it as I see it and hope that people appreciate that.”

Slotkin represents the greater Lansing area in Congress. She says she will be traveling throughout the state on a listening tour to learn the priorities for residents outside her district.

In related news, a man who made death threats to Jewish government officials in Michigan, including Slotkin and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, while in Texas was arrested by the FBI this week.

Jack Carpenter III of Tipton, Mich is accused of tweeting the following threat: “I’m heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt if they don’t leave, or confess, and now that kind of problem,” according to a criminal complaint filed last month.

Slotkin, who did three tours in Iraq while working in the CIA, was not fazed by the threats and praised law enforcement for arresting Carpenter.

“I’m a former CIA officer — I did three tours in Iraq alongside the military — so I’m probably more stoic than some on physical threats, but it’s absolutely unacceptable,” Slotkin says. “I’m just really glad that our law enforcement was on it and took care of it really quickly.”