Meet incumbent Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin

Slotkin is a Democrat, running for reelection over the 8th Congressional District this November after winning the 2018 majority vote.

According to her campaign website, Slotkin is a third-generation Michigander, having grown up on a working farm out in Holly, Michigan, that she still calls home.

When the 9/11 attacks occurred, Slotkin was studying at graduate school in New York City. That was when she decided she wanted to work in national security, to protect her country from future devastations, according to her website.

The CIA recruited her to serve as a Middle East analyst, and she ended up serving three tours in Iraq alongside the U.S. military and diplomats. This pushed her toward roles at the White House under 43rd President George W. Bush and 44th President Barack Obama.

She was in a series of leadership roles at the Defense Department until January 2017, overseeing defense policy for Africa, the Middle East and Europe at the Pentagon as the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

She negotiated some of the Pentagon's most sensitive national security matters, such as the fight against ISIS and the U.S. response to Russian aggression.

She said on the website that she prides herself on the Michigan-bred straightforward, commonsense approach she upholds. She shares her values with her husband, Dave Moore, who is a retired U.S. Army colonel, and her two step-daughters, one who has started as a U.S. Army officer and another who services as a physician at a Virginia hospital.

Slotkin's campaign

The fundamental of her campaign is to continue reflection of what she kicked off in 2018: She wants to honestly and transparently engage with voters in all areas of the 8th District, whether from Oakland, Livingston or Ingham County.

In an attempt to be as available and accessible as possible, Slotkin hosts many public events across the district, her website said. She said on her website she enjoys the dedicated and passionate volunteers and local leaders she's been in partnership with.

"I approach elected office from a service perspective: as your elected Representative, my job is to fight for you and your families in Washington," according to her website.

In her first term, she said she listened to the voices of her community and plans to do the same with a second term. Her priorities are as listed:

• Affordable healthcare
• Affordable prescription drugs
• Investing in education
• Growing economic opportunity in Michigan
• Investing in our infrastructure and water systems
• Ensuring retirement security
• Fighting for campaign finance reform
• Strengthening America's national security
• Providing for our veterans
• Preserving our environment
• Defending our freedoms and advancing equality
• Fiscal responsibility and government
• Passing common sense gun legislation
• Combating the opioid epidemic

Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she has focused on supporting the families of her district, helping employers and their businesses within her district keep their doors open and fighting for the front-line workers in her district who are saving lives and keeping the community safe during these unprecedented times.

Meet Paul Junge

Junge is a Republican, hoping to beat out his opposition for a turn at the helm of the 8th Congressional District.

According to his campaign website, Junge has worked heavily in his family business, which has maintained housing for military families, created over 500 jobs and supported working families.

He prides himself on knowing first-hand how important small businesses are to employment and prosperity in Michigan.

Additionally, Junge was a deputy district attorney who worked in the domestic violence unit to protect abused women and children and the Fox 47 television news anchor in Lansing.

Most recently, he worked in the Trump administration at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to stop illegal immigration and secure the country's borders.

Junge's campaign

The fundamentals of his campaign are to "defend the values that make America strong to help families, promote freedom, and opportunity and secure the God-given rights spelled out in the U.S. Constitution," according to his website.

His priorities are as listed:

• Combating coronavirus
• Rebuilding the economy
• Putting America first
• Securing the border
• Defending the right to life
• Protecting the Second Amendment rights
• Destroying terrorists
• Fixing broken infrastructure
• Supporting quality healthcare
• Educating America's future
• America first energy and environment

According to his website, he plans to:

• Continue the policies that worked before COVID-19, including tax and regulatory relief for families, small businesses and job providers.
• Prevent lawsuit abuse against American small businesses and job providers who are trying to do the right thing during COVID-19.
• Pursue trade policies that put America first.
• Support skilled trades training.
• Protect work-provided health insurance and reduce the regulatory burden to offer more flexibility for employees to work from home. and care for their families.

If you cannot tune into the radio station directly, the debate will also be livestreamed on the Livingston Post's Facebook page.