Elissa Slotkin, who served as acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in the Obama administration, is running for a Michigan congressional seat.
The Democrat announced her candidacy Monday for the 8th District seat held by second-term Republican Rep. Mike Bishop. The GOP-leaning district stretches between Lansing and the northern Detroit suburbs.
Slotkin, of Holly, grew up in Michigan and spent the past 15 years in various U.S. intelligence, national security and defense roles during the Obama and Bush administrations. She says she is proud to have worked for Republican and Democratic leaders and plans to put "the community's needs over partisanship" if elected to Congress.
At the Pentagon, she says she negotiated sensitive matters including the fight against ISIS and the U.S. response to Russian aggression.
