Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin is seeking to keep up the momentum gained at this week’s Democratic National Convention. She stopped in Benton Harbor Friday to campaign and said Democrats need to engage their neighbors who vote differently.

Slotkin said it’s time for the party to stop playing defense and pursue an agenda, rather than always reacting to developments.

Slotkin, a U.S. Representative and former Central Intelligence Agency analyst, told us the enthusiasm at the DNC shows people are itching for a new generation of leadership.

“I just think you can’t manufacture that kind of energy, you can’t buy it, you can’t create it,” Slotkin said. “It’s created from change, and the mere fact of switching the top of the ticket and showing people the potential for a different generation, I think has moved people. And they feel it, they want it, it’s pent up.”

Slotkin told the crowd at Lark’s in Benton Harbor she never considered running for office until Donald Trump was elected president. We asked her what she wants Berrien County voters to know about her.

“I believe in service to your country, and that’s been my experience professionally. I was a former CIA officer and Pentagon official. I served three tours in Iraq alongside the military long before I ever thought about running for politics. But I see it as the same oath, which is it’s not about you.”

With Republicans pushing the Project 2025 agenda, Slotkin said maybe Democrats should have a Project 2025 of their own. She told the crowd “this election is now within the margin of effort,” stressing the importance of voting in November.