Elissa Slotkin: ‘Declare your patriotism’ amid election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
Elissa Slotkin: ‘Declare your patriotism’ amid election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running for a vacant U.S. Senate seat that could determine which party controls that chamber in 2025, focused on national security in a brief speech to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, saying the November presidential election presents America with a difficult choice.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have a choice between “America withdrawing from the world or America leading,” Slotkin (Democrat of Holly) told delegates in Chicago.
Trump “wants to set us back” and “has a great admiration for dictators,” Slotkin said. “He treats our friends as adversaries and our adversaries as friends.” Harris recognizes that “it’s not just about having a strong military, it’s about tackling global challenges,” such as climate change, and that requires friends, she said. Harris knows “our strength abroad is inextricably linked to our strength here at home.”
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Slotkin, who was first elected to Congress in 2018 and represents the 7th Congressional District, is a former CIA analyst who served three tours of duty in Iraq and also worked as a Defense Department official in the White House.
She is running against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in the race to succeed outgoing U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) in the U.S. Senate. It is one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country and is considered a neck-and-neck race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate next year.
Slotkin delivered a speech on the final night of the convention, before Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Vice President Kamala Harris, who was to formally accept the party’s nomination as presidential candidate.
Rogers delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.
In a statement released Thursday after Slotkin’s speech, Rogers said this showed she was no longer in touch with the families in Michigan. “No mention was made of the border, food prices, Israel’s war against the terrorist Hamas, or the strategic threat China poses to the United States.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected]. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.
