The Metro: Senator Elissa Slotkin says ‘economic basket of issues’ unites Democrats against Trump

Sen. Elissa Slotkin talks with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent at the Mackinac Policy Conference about her political rise, bipartisan appeal and the debate over the Democratic Party’s direction.

Senator Slotkin sits with The Metro's Robyn Vincent at a table with microphones

Senator Slotkin joins Robyn Vincent on The Metro during the Mackinac Policy Conference

Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin is one of the most closely watched politicians in her party right now.

A former CIA analyst, she took three tours in Iraq alongside the military, and spent years in national security under both Republican and Democratic administrations before she ran for office. Then she won a House seat in a Trump-led district, followed by a Senate seat in a state President Trump carried. When her party needed someone to deliver the Democratic response to President Trump’s address to Congress, they picked her.

She’s been called a centrist. A pragmatist. A rising star. She’s also been called too cautious — not progressive enough, not tough enough — at a moment when many Democrats argue the party must get louder. The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent spoke with her at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.


Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.

Support the podcasts you love.

One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.

More stories from The Metro

Author

  • Sam Corey is a producer for 101.9 WDET, which includes finding and preparing interesting stories for the daily news, arts and culture program, The Metro. Sam joined WDET after a year and a half at The Union, a small newspaper in California, and stints at a variety of local Michigan outlets, including WUOM and the Metro Times. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago.