Elissa Slotkin first Democrat to make an official run in Michigan's Senate race

Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin announced Monday that she's running for retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow's seat in 2024, making her the first Democrat to declare a bid for the battleground state.

The announcement came via a video released on Slotkin's social media platforms Monday morning.

"We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder and never forgets that we are public servants," Slotkin said in her announcement. "We need engaged citizens and principled leaders because together there is no problem we cannot solve."

Even though she's the only Democrat to announce an official bid, she's the third candidate to officially file for 2024. Two Republicans, Michael Hoover and Nikki Snyder, have already declared their candidacy. Hoover is a businessman turned political newcomer, while Snyder is currently serving as a member of the State Board of Educators.

Slotkin was reelected to a third term in the House in the 2022 midterms. Upon Stabenow's announcement of her retirement, Slotkin hinted that she was mulling a run for Senate

In her announcement video, she says her call to public service came on Sept. 11, 2001, when she was just two days into grad school in New York City. "By the time the smoke cleared, I knew I wanted a career in public service protecting my country," Slotkin remembered.

According to her House biography page, Slotkin was recruited to serve overseas as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, including three tours in Iraq, under then-Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Before turning to politics, Slotkin served as a senior Pentagon official from 2012 to 2014.

Stabenow, who turns 73 this April, has held her seat since 2000, when she became the first woman from Michigan to serve in the Senate. Before Stabenow ran for Senate, she served in the House representing the same district Slotkin represents now.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Mike Berg said in a January statement that conservatives will "aggressively target this seat in 2024," in hopes of retaking a seat from the Democrats.

Berg continued: "This could be the first of many Senate Democrats who decide to retire rather than lose."

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