Two candidates hope to face off against incumbent Congressman Mike Bishop in November, but first, one must emerge with the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 7 primary.
Elissa Slotkin of Holly, 42, is a former acting assistant secretary of defense who grew up in Oakland County and spent her early life on the family farm in Holly, where she lives today.
“I believe the current tenor and tone of our politics is fundamentally unbecoming of the country I served, and the country we all love,” Slotkin said. “In my 14 years in national security, serving under both Republican and Democratic administrations, no one ever asked me what party I was from because we were focused on the mission of protecting U.S forces and the U.S. homeland. I believe now more than ever, we need mission-focused leaders in Congress who will put partisan politics aside and focus on getting things done for Michiganders – and that’s why I started thinking about running for Congress.”
The issue ultimately motivating her to run was healthcare.
“My mom died in 2011 of ovarian cancer after struggling to afford coverage for years since she had a ‘pre-existing condition’ after having survived breast cancer as a young mom,” she said. “When I saw our current representative, Rep. Mike Bishop, celebrating after voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, something just broke for me. He hadn’t held had one real town hall, or conversation with doctors, nurses, or constituents about how it would affect them. I decided to get in the race because I believe we need a Congress that’s accountable and focused on improving people’s lives, not scoring political points in a way that hurts people here.”
Top priorities would be to lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, fix crumbling roads and water infrastructure, and curb the corrosive influence of money on politics.
“I believe all people deserve access to healthcare they can afford, and how we achieve that goal is our generation’s principal challenge to solve. To lower costs, I would create a buy-in to Medicare. If people can get good coverage for a decent price, people will flock to it. I would also work to lower the cost of prescription drugs, particularly by allowing Medicare to buy drugs in bulk. This could create competition and bring down prices for everyone,” she said.
The need to fix our roads and improve our infrastructure is one of the common threads that binds all Michiganders together, regardless of party., she said.
“If elected, I will fight for a once-in-a-generation investment in our roads and water infrastructure,” she said.
People feel their representatives have been bought and sold by special interests, and are more focused on those priorities, rather than the people they represent, she said.
“That is why I have decided not to accept corporate PAC money, as I wanted to make it crystal clear who I was fighting for. I have also committed within my first year in office to work on campaign finance reform legislation,” she said.
When serving in Iraq, they were laser-focused on achieving the mission at hand.
“While our team could disagree on strategy and approach, we sat around a table, worked through those issues and options, and came up with a plan,” Slotkin said. “The stakes were just too high to kick the can down the road on tough issues. I believe that our elected representatives in Congress should take the same approach. There are so many issues where our Congress should be working together to help solve real problems, like lowering prescription drug costs. And while there may be issues of disagreement between the parties, leaders have a responsibility to do their jobs — to get in a room, find the common ground, and force compromise in the name of progress. That’s what I will do if elected, just as I have always done in my national security roles.”
She has spent her career in national security, serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations, including directly for President Bush and President Obama.
“I know what it means to put politics aside, put your head down, and get to work,” she said.

Chris Smith of East Lansing, 60, is a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University, and resident for 23 years.
“We need a new representative in Congress who will focus on problem solving and the needs of individuals and families in the 8th district,” Smith said. “Too often today, we see Political Action Committees use their campaign contributions to dictate decisions in Congress that favor the interests of corporations and the wealthy while ignoring pressing problems affecting people’s lives today and in the future.”
His experience in teaching public policy and law for more than 30 years, including the past 24 years at MSU, prepared him to bring a problem-solving approach to Congress, he said.
“We need to use our knowledge of science and research-evidence to address problems, rather than having policy decisions to score political points or advance an ideology,” he said.
Top issues are health care, infrastructure and environment, and education and job training.
“I am the only candidate who advocates Medicare for all. Every one American should have guaranteed access to the health care they need, just as we see in so many other industrialized democracies around the world. Health care affects many aspects of people’s lives, including their ability to work, to focus on child rearing, to focus on education, and to pursue career advancement,” he said.
We need significant investments in roads, water systems, electrical systems, and a move toward renewable energy, he said.
“I am the only candidate to say that there should be no pipelines under the Great Lakes. Michigan has a sacred responsibility to protect the significant portion of the world’s water that surrounds us and is within our borders,” he said. “We should not accept any risks of catastrophic events that might spoil our fresh water, endanger public health, and devastate our tourism industry.”
We need greater investments in education at all levels, from Pre-K through universities, he said.
“We must improve accessibility, affordability, and quality. The federal government can assist with funding and programs to equalize educational opportunities in our system of separate and often unequal local school systems. I advocate following the lead of states that now offer free community college and technical training,” he said.
Free community college will also help future cohorts avoid some of the problem of student loan debt affecting many people today.
“I was making student loan payments until I was 40 so I understand this burden. We need a low fixed rate for student loan interest rates, centralized non-profit, government loan administration, and greater opportunities for student loan forgiveness,” Smith said.
His life experience growing up in Michigan combined with his professional experience teaching law and public policy for more than 30 years provide him with a strong background to understand the problems facing people in the Eighth District as well as the problem-solving skills to use research evidence to address these problems, he said.
“I am different from others who run for political office. I have made a commitment to be forthright, clear, and honest about my policy positions,” he said. “I fear no question and avoid no audience. Our current representative in Congress will not hold town halls to listen to his constituents’ concerns. In my view, it is a central responsibility of members of Congress to listen to constituents, including those who present criticism and disagreements.”
While other candidates fly around the country to fundraising events sponsored by Political Action Committees, he stayed in the district to hold 12 open town hall events, including at least two in each of the district’s three counties, he said.
“If we want politics to be different, then we need candidates who will do things differently,” he said. “My experience and my commitment to being independent and responsive make me especially well-prepared and qualified to represent the Eighth District in Congress.”
The winner of the primary will move on to the Nov. 6 general election.