Jewish political insiders and a Detroit-area rabbi told JNS that they have high hopes for Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who narrowly defeated Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, for the Senate seat of retiring Democrat Debbie Stabenow.
With 99% of the votes counted, Slotkin had secured 48.6% of the vote (2,708,212 votes), compared to 48.3% (2,687,995 votes) for Rogers. The Libertarian and Green Party candidates each drew about 1% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
Steve Rabinowitz, a Democratic consultant in Washington, D.C., and the founder and president of Bluelight Strategies, told JNS that he has known Slotkin since her first run for the House in 2017.
The Jewish congresswoman and former CIA analyst, who served in defense and intelligence roles under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, including acting U.S. assistant secretary of defense, is “whip-smart, hardworking and totally dedicated,” Rabinowitz said.
“She has also long been a big supporter of Israel, even in the face of its detractors, particularly in Michigan,” he told JNS. “Elissa Slotkin will make a terrific U.S. senator, continuing in the great tradition of Michigan senators.”
Mark Mellman, the president of Democratic Majority for Israel who also runs an eponymous polling firm, told JNS that Slotkin “had a clear pro-Israel record in the House.
“We look forward to working with her in the Senate to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and advance the Democratic agenda,” he said.
Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and former national security adviser to then senator Kamala Harris, told JNS that Slotkin is “a remarkable national security leader, and ally of Israel and the Jewish community.”
“We’re thrilled with Elissa’s election and look forward to working with her in the Senate to defend democracy, ensure access to healthcare and reproductive rights, counter antisemitism and extremism, and advance our national security interests, including in the Middle East,” Soifer said.
“It’s my responsibility to get things done for Michiganders. No matter who’s in office, just as I did in President Trump’s first term,” Slotkin said after winning the race, per the AP. “I’m a problem solver, and I will work with anyone who is actually here to work.”
“We all know that it’s been a tough election season,” she added. “I believe in my bones that America is at its best when we have two healthy parties that push and pull and debate on issues of policy and substance and make our laws better.”
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who leads the six-year-old, Detroit-area Modern Orthodox synagogue Kehillat Etz Chayim, told JNS that Slotkin “has always been very popular in the Jewish community because of her strong support for Israel, her background in intelligence services and because she shares the values of the Jewish community on many different issues.”
Lopatin, also community relations director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor—home to the University of Michigan—hopes Slotkin “is not only effective in the Senate to continue her work strengthening the bipartisan American-Israel relationship but also that she can be an important bridge between the Democratic and Republican parties in important areas where there is great commonality.”
