Sen. Elissa Slotkin's Divorce Was Surrounded By Sketchy Rumors

Senator Elissa Slotkin was back on everyone's radar as one of the six Democrats who participated in a video calling on members of the military to refrain from obeying illegal orders. The headline-grabbing clip led to one of Donald Trump's most whiny social media meltdowns yet. "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" the president penned on Truth Social (via CNN). "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD." Naturally, this was hardly the first time Slotkin evoked the ire of the GOP. Before divorcing her husband of 12 years, the politician faced plenty of gossip and finger-pointing from Republicans after relocating to Lansing, Michigan, ahead of running for the 7th District's House seat in 2022. 

There was just one problem — the property Slotkin was renting belonged to Jerry and Kathy Hollister. Jerry was one of Slotkin's campaign donors and worked for Niowave as its director of government relations, and his high-ranking pal had previously put in a good word to give the go-ahead for a government program that ultimately benefited the company. It looked fishy, and some understood the two to be living together before both parties put out a statement to the contrary. That didn't stop Slotkin's opponent, Former Senator Tom Barret's, campaign from condemning her decision to move to Lansing. 

"The carelessness of choosing to share a residence (an address) with a lobbyist I think raises legitimate questions," his campaign advisor, Jason Cabel Roe, told The Detroit News at the time. When Slotkin ultimately announced that she was divorcing her husband, Dave Moore, in February 2023, it unsurprisingly set tongues wagging, with many pondering whether her living arrangements ahead of the election had contributed to the split in any way. To this day, there's not much clarity about what really caused it either.

Aside from being responsible for one of Donald Trump's most memorable meltdowns of 2025, Elissa Slotkin is also part of the long list of politicians who will always be haunted by alleged affairs and damaging rumors. Ahead of her initial run for Congress, in 2018, Slotkin started a consulting business, which she abandoned once she won. The politician did, however, market herself to voters as a small business owner. Ahead of Slotkin's run for Senate in 2024, her small business that never quite took off was back in the spotlight, with National Republican Senatorial Committee Spokeswoman Maggie Abboud attempting to paint Slotkin as dishonest during an interview with the Washington Examiner. "Elissa Slotkin created a consulting business on paper so she could call herself a small business owner when she ran for Congress," Abboud asserted. "However, it does not appear that she ever actually had any clients." 

Slotkin's campaign released a statement in response, clarifying that the business began during a time "when she was considering a number of different job opportunities." Aside from potentially misleading her constituents, Slotkin was also accused of colluding with a CCP-linked Chinese battery company. The Michigan Republican Party's official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted the accusation in October 2024, complete with a document bearing Slotkin's signature.

They raged, "Slotkin is a LIAR! She signed a secret agreement with a CCP-linked Chinese battery company. Then, she lied to cover her tracks. #ShanghaiSlotkin is a national security threat." PolitiFact set the record straight, noting that the non-disclosure agreement in question was indeed signed by Slotkin but had nothing to do with a Chinese battery company. Instead, she'd signed it with the Michigan Economic Development Corp ahead of discussions about state developments.