Advance Notice: Briefs

Slotkin, Stevens share social media videos before new Congress convenes

By: Susan J. Demas - January 3, 2019 3:14 pm

Elissa Slotkin (left) and Haley Stevens (right)

The two women who flipped congressional seats in Michigan both shared Twitter messages before officially joining the 116th Congress, which kicks off today.

New U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and Haley Stevens (D-Rochester Hills) followed the popular tradition of communicating directly with constituents in unpolished social media posts that guest columnist Amanda Stitt detailed last month.

Both Democrats won multi-million-dollar races for nationally targeted seats in Southeast Michigan and helped their party take control of the U.S. House for the first time in eight years.

Slotkin picked off two-term U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) in the 8th District spanning Livingston, Ingham and northern Oakland counties. Stevens defeated GOP businesswoman Lena Epstein, who co-chaired President Trump’s Michigan campaign, in the open 11th District representing Wayne and Oakland counties. U.S. Rep. Dave Trott (D-Birmingham) didn’t seek re-election.

Slotkin posted a video on Dec. 30 from Detroit Metro Airport after spending the holidays in Grayling. “One of the things that’s been hanging over the holiday season is that we are in a government shutdown. We just walked through TSA [Transportation Security Administration] security and every single one of those people is working without pay right now, so we thank them for doing that, especially during the holidays,” she said.

Hello from DTW — where Dave and I are on our way to Washington to prepare for swearing-in at the end of the week. Here at the airport, we are reminded of the stakes of the Government shutdown — as airport security personnel are hard at work, without pay. pic.twitter.com/Lr9fPPP8xS

— Elissa Slotkin (@ElissaSlotkin) December 31, 2018

Stevens’ video is of her entering her new congressional office in Washington, D.C., and she has a bit of trouble with her keys. “I’m ready to get to work,” she said.

With my UAW backpack and folio from my service in the Obama Administration hanging out, one thing is clear: I am ready to get to work. #MI11 pic.twitter.com/mWzA7uBJKK

— Haley Stevens (@HaleyLive) January 3, 2019

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Susan J. Demas

Susan J. Demas is a 23-year journalism veteran and one of the state’s foremost experts on Michigan politics, appearing on C-SPAN, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and WKAR-TV’s “Off the Record.” In addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief, she is the Advance’s chief columnist, writing on women, LGBTQ people, the state budget, the economy and more. For almost five years, Susan was the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, the most-cited political newsletter in the state. Susan’s award-winning political analysis has run in more than 100 national, international and regional media outlets, including the Guardian U.K., NBC News, the New York Times, the Detroit News and MLive.