LOADS OF DOUGH

Local politicians who have flipped districts from red to blue are keeping their fundraising streaks going strong. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Rochester, Rochester Hills, northern Oakland, parts of Livingston and Ingham counties) reported she raised over $730,000 in the second fiscal quarter of 2019 – and over $1.3 million since she launched her re-election campaign, with $1 million cash-on-hand. As in her first go at the rodeo, Slotkin has forsworn accepting money from corporate political action committees (PACs). Of this quarter’s report, 84 percent came from individual donations of $100 or less, her campaign announced. “I’m so proud of the outpouring of grassroots support we have seen since launching the re-election campaign, and that we are running this campaign without a single dollar from corporate PACs,” Slotkin said in a release, asserting she’s supported by Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the 8th District. While there are rumblings of potential Republican challengers – including former Rep. Mike Bishop, who she beat, and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett, no one has yet come forward to take her on in 2020.