Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) unveiled her “Economic War Plan” on Thursday, warning that Democrats are losing touch with working-class Americans.

Describing her plan as “a new vision for the Democratic Party,” Slotkin claimed that the “shrinking middle class is the existential national security threat to the U.S.,” more so than foreign threats such as Iranian-backed cyberattackers.

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“I believe deep in our bones that if we lose the middle class, and by association the American dream, we will lose our democracy and our American country,” Slotkin said. “This is the existential threat.”

Slotkin, who won a tight election in a swing state in 2024, unveiled the broad strokes of her economic plan at the Center for American Progress in a discussion with Neera Tanden, a former Biden administration aide currently involved in the House Oversight Committee’s autopen investigation.

She urged the Democratic Party to unite around an economic message as a way to empower and win back working-class voters who have flocked to President Donald Trump.

She said the Democrats’ Economic War plan should “ruthlessly prioritize the middle class.”

“The middle class is shrinking. That’s not a political statement, it’s a fact,” Slotkin added. “This core issue united moderates, progressives, and everything in between.”

With socialist Zohran Mamdani on track to win the New York City mayoral primary, Republicans have sought to paint the entire Democratic Party as too extreme, which has put swing-state and swing-district Democrats, such as Slotkin, on their heels as they try to distance themselves from the socialist label.

Mamdani, who won over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, built his campaign on liberal policies, including raising taxes on rich people, providing free public buses and child care, freezing rent in subsidized units, and creating government-run grocery stores.

Slotkin said her takeaways from the NYC primaries are that people are still concerned about the cost of the economy and that citizens are looking for a new generation of leadership. She recalled the election in November, which Trump won, in part, with an economic message, and said voters’ concerns are the same now.

“If the election in November told us anything, it’s not just Trump voters who are frustrated with the government, it’s Americans across the board,” Slotkin said.

She said too “many Democrats have lost touch” with economic issues and suggested that fixing those core concerns would tone down the backlash.

“When you can’t provide for your kids what was provided to you, you feel anger. You feel shame. You lose your dignity,” Slotkin said. “And you look for something, or someone, to blame. That anger, that suspicion among Americans, that right there is what I mean when I say an existential threat.”

Slotkin outlined her plan in broad goals on how to restore the middle class, and didn’t dive into too many policy specifics. The fundamentals would be centered on creating better-paying jobs, access to better education, housing, “safety and security from fear,” new energy plans, fighting against climate change, and affordable healthcare.

Her plan also includes the government stopping tax breaks to big companies, banning cellphones in K-12 classrooms, declaring a housing emergency, prioritizing energy plans, and giving citizens options for healthcare.

Slotkin also said she’d like to “radically realign policy to support small businesses” and fix the “broken immigration system,” to keep people working.

“Republicans say border security should substitute for immigration policy, and are rounding up people in a way that goes against American values, and Democrats are scared to impose real rules,” Slotkin said.

Additionally, Slotkin called for the Democratic Party to be the activists for the middle class and called for banning corporate PAC checks to “gut” the influence of corporate money.

“The middle class doesn’t have a lobbyist. They don’t have a super PAC. They don’t have a corporate PAC. But they should have the Democratic Party,” Slotkin said.

With Democrats being out of power in Congress and the White House, she said the party is too often on defense.

“But it’s simply not enough. We need to offer a different vision and demonstrate our affirmative, positive plan for our country. That’s our responsibility and what the moment demands of us,” Slotkin said. “And given the stakes—and the existential threat of a shrinking middle class—an Economic War Plan is what I know how to do. We need to treat the moment with the seriousness it deserves. And be relentless in protecting the country we all love.”