National Security Leader Running in Michigan's 8th District

The people of Michigan's 8th District deserve a representative that puts their interests first. Many people know me as a national security leader. Over the past 14 years, I've worked on some of the most difficult national security threats serving in the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House, and the Pentagon. This service included three tours of duty in Iraq between 2004 and 2008. Now I'm considering a run for Congress to bring that leadership experience back to my home district.

My motivation stems from one simple truth: Washington is failing to protect the American Dream in Michigan. Regardless of how you felt about the last election, people sent a message with their vote. I got that message loud and clear: the basic things we have always relied on -- the safety, health, and financial security of our families -- have become harder and harder to achieve.

The American Dream is under attack from two directions: first, our earnings have been hit as good jobs leave the state, wages stagnate, and taxes target middle class paychecks. At the same time, our costs are skyrocketing on things like health care, prescription drugs, and education. Instead of taking the time to understand what's going on in our communities, career politicians are too busy protecting their own partisan agendas to do what they were elected to do: improve the lives of their constituents. On health care in particular, our current representative either doesn’t understand the impact of the proposed policy changes -- or he doesn’t care. In contrast, I want to be the representative who listens, crafts concrete solutions, and delivers results based on common sense -- not party lines.

I believe that when you see a problem, you roll up your sleeves and get to work. Americans are at our best when practical people sit down to tackle tough problems with dignity and respect. This is the Michigan way. If this is what you believe, then you're ready for a representative like me for Michigan's 8th District.

ABOUT ME

I'm a third-generation Michigander who spent my early life on a farm in Holly, Michigan where I currently live and run a small consulting business. The Slotkin family story is one of hard work and sacrifice: my great-grandfather arrived on Ellis Island and achieved the American Dream by founding the family meat business, Hygrade Foods. His sons and grandsons joined the family trade, establishing its Detroit headquarters in 1949. Hygrade invented a number of foods that have been staples in the lives of Michiganders for generations, including the famous Ballpark Frank, first sold at Tiger Stadium. The value of hard, and often difficult work, was passed on from generation to generation. As Slotkins, we learned that discipline, decency, and integrity are the measures by which one should be judged.

My family values led me to a life defined by service to others. And like so many Americans, the trajectory of that service changed on 9/11, and my career has since been defined serving my country. I was in New York City as a graduate student at Columbia University when the attacks happened. Immediately after, I joined the Central Intelligence Agency as a Middle East analyst. Within a year, I was trained and deployed to Iraq alongside the U.S. military and the State Department, doing my part to improve what had already become a complicated war. I became a member of President Bush's White House staff and was asked to stay on when President Obama took office. Throughout my career, I've been proud to work for both Republican and Democratic leaders who put the good of our country over politics. I plan to do the same in Michigan’s 8th District by always putting the community's needs over partisanship.

Until January 2017, I oversaw policy at the Pentagon on the Middle East, Africa, Russia, and Europe as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense. I negotiated some of the Pentagon's most sensitive national security matters from the fight against ISIS to confronting Russian aggression. No matter how difficult the issue, it was the values I learned growing up in Michigan -- a straightforward, commonsense approach -- that helped me succeed as a national security leader.

I'm fortunate to share these same values with my husband Dave who retired as a Colonel after 30 years in the U.S. Army. Dave served as an Apache helicopter pilot in the First Gulf War, Korea, Kosovo, and served two tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where we met in Baghdad. In Dave, I not only gained a partner, but also two amazing daughters who have started their own lives of service, one as an Army officer and the other as a physician.

As your representative, I'll rely on my family values and professional experience to deliver results. But in order to do this, I'll need your input and support. I look forward to engaging you at every turn. Our district deserves strong and principled leadership -- and nothing less.