Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin has been rated as one of the top members of Congress working across the political aisle.
The nonpartisan Common Ground Committee (CGC) released a new evaluation this month that scored Slotkin (D-Lansing) as one of the top-10 members of Congress who works across the aisle with Republicans.
CGC’s 2022 scorecard showed Slotkin’s score is 97 out of 100, putting her in the top-10 of all U.S. House members, Senators and Governors in the country. The average score is 29.
Slotkin earned the highest ranking of any member from Michigan and is ranked 8th overall among all the elected officials who were included. The average score for Michigan elected officials was 36.
“Especially at a moment where we’re experiencing intense division in our country, it’s never been more important for Members of Congress to work across the aisle to tackle the biggest challenges our country is facing,” said Slotkin. “I’ve always said that I’m willing to work with anyone, no matter their party, as long as they’re serious about finding solutions and improving peoples’ lives. Our constituents expect us to step up, show leadership and work hard to get things done. That’s been my guiding principle in Congress and it always will be.”
The Common Ground Scorecard was first released prior to the 2020 election and is updated quarterly by CGC, a nonpartisan, citizen-led organization devoted to improving public discourse in politics. In addition to their commitments and personal actions, CGC also incorporates an elected official’s score in the Lugar Center/McCourt School Bipartisan Index and other public sources of data.
“Americans are divided over the direction of the country and how to solve many issues we currently face. To make progress, leaders must be committed to working across the aisle and finding solutions that address all our citizens’ concerns,” said Erik Olsen, co-founder of CGC. “But while they are divided on issues, Americans agree that they want to see their representatives work together and solve problems. We hope that more lawmakers follow Rep. Slotkin’s lead and make a commitment to finding common ground.”
Earlier this year, Slotkin was also rated as one of the top-10 most bipartisan members of Congress by the nonpartisan Lugar Center, which generates its annual rankings in partnership with the McCourt School at Georgetown University.
That analysis found Slotkin to be the most bipartisan member of the Michigan delegation and the 8th most bipartisan member of the House of Representatives. A former national security official in both the Bush and Obama administrations, Slotkin has been a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus during her entire time in Congress, and has worked extensively with Republicans on bills relating to border security, prescription drug affordability and national security.
Slotkin is being challenged for the 7th District seat by Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte. Barrett, an Army veteran, has attacked the contention that Slotkin is bipartisan.
On his Facebook page, Barrett noted that Slotkin had voted with President Joe Biden “100% and for billions in corporate welfare making the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District one of the 12 seats needed for Republicans to win control of Congress.”
A USA Today article he posted alongside that comment noted that “Barrett is another Republican nominee who has removed anti-abortion language from his campaign materials this summer following his primary win. He’d previously described himself as “100% pro life” without exception, that language no longer exists on his campaign website.”
