A former U.S. Department of Defense official has launched a campaign for the Democratic nomination in Michigan's 8th Congressional district, a seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop.

Elissa Slotkin, who served three tours in Iraq with the CIA before holding several positions with the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense, announced her candidacy at a Monday morning campaign event in Lansing.

Slotkin's most recently served as a top adviser to two Secretaries of Defense on the Middle East, Europe and NATO, Russia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. She recently moved back to her family's farm in Holly after 15 years holding several intelligence and national defense posts during the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Slotkin said she hopes to direct her years of nonpartisan public service experience at the federal level towards issues facing the 8th District by running for Congress, and said economic and healthcare issues will be a key focus of her campaign.

"I've worked for Republican bosses, I've worked for Democratic bosses - I cross party lines when it's about getting work done," she said. "I think people in this district want to see results."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has listed the 8th District -- which covers Ingham and Livingston Counties as well as a portion of Oakland County -- as a target for the 2018 elections. The district is currently represented by Bishop, who defeated Macomb County assistant prosecutor Suzanna Shkreli in 2016 by nearly 17 percentage points in the 2016 election.

Bishop was first elected in 2014, when he beat Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing by about 13 points.

Another Democrat, Brighton attorney Darlene Domanik, has already filed to run in the district, and others are also considering runs.

Stu Sandler, a spokesperson for Bishop's campaign, said Democrats in the district are repeating the "Jon Ossoff plan," referring to the Democratic candidate who recently lost Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election. Ossoff grew up in the district, but was criticized by Republicans as a carpetbagger.

"I think voters are skeptical of that," Sandler said. "Mike's working hard, as he always does, and we don't see this district as that competitive."

Slotkin called that criticism "pretty weak sauce," considering she was raised in the district and spent her time away from it "defending the security and stability of the U.S."

"It's an interesting choice for a career politician to criticize someone who's served their country," she said.

Slotkin said the recent health care vote in the U.S. House was what solidified her intent to run, referencing her own experience helping her mother get the health care she needed before she died of ovarian cancer in 2011. If elected, she said she'd support the creation of an independent commission of experts to assist Congress in finding a bipartisan fix to health care issues.

During her campaign announcement, Slotkin made no mention of President Donald Trump or the actions of his administration -- a decision she said was intentional.

"It's not about him -- it's about what I'm going to try and do for the district," Slotkin said. "You can't just criticize your way into an electoral victory, you have to have an affirmative, concrete plan. If other people want to spend their time worrying about each tweet, they can do that."