SLOTKIN-BARNETT DOGFIGHT
Don’t think for a moment that Elissa Slotkin will have a free ride in 2022 just because she is choosing to run for re-election in the liberal leaning Lansing/East Lansing area. Just after the latest maps for the new congressional districts were released, state Senator Tom Barrett ( R-Charlotte), a constant critic of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, announced he would be running for Congress. As an army vet with 21 years of service – including a number of tours in war-torn countries – and current National Guard member, his bona fides would start to balance out against Slotkin’s international intelligence work (CIA) in two past administrations of both a Republican and Democrat president. Remember, Barrett in 2014 knocked off a sitting state House Democrat and then ran for the Senate from this general area. Slotkin won by only four points in her last election run. Barrett filed his committee statement with the FEC on November 10 and announced on November 15, still sitting with cash on hand of $75,488 from his last campaign, although Slotkin raised over $832,000 in the most recent reporting period and has gathered $2.7 million in this election cycle, leaving her with $3.76 million cash on hand.