Profile

Kristen McDonald Rivet is a lifelong Michigander who has spent her career fighting for working families and finding common sense solutions that make communities safer, families stronger and life just a little bit more affordable. She now proudly represents Michigan’s 8th District – including Genesee, Saginaw, Bay, and Midland counties– in the U.S. Congress.

Kristen was raised in a small, farm town in Michigan. Her mom stayed home to raise her and her sisters while her dad worked construction often clocking 80 hours a week to make ends meet. Thanks to their sacrifice, Kristen and her sisters were the first generation in the family to go to college.

In Congress, Kristen is laser focused on commonsense solutions that level the playing field for working families and puts more money into their pockets. Her top priorities include cutting taxes for the working and middle class, lowering the cost of groceries, housing, prescription drugs, and childcare, and bringing good-paying jobs to mid-Michigan. She believes we must protect hard-earned benefits, like Social Security and Medicare. And Kristen works with both parties to make sure Michigan’s law enforcement has the necessary resources to keep our communities safe.

Kristen was elected by her peers to serve as the Freshman Leadership Representative to the New Democratic Coalition. The “New Dems” are a group of more than 100 middle-of-the-road Democrats in the 119th Congress, committed to working with members of both parties to deliver common sense solutions. With this leadership position, Congresswoman McDonald Rivet will be able to elevate issues important to Michigan families – like lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs, and keeping mid-Michiganders safe.

Before being elected to Congress, Kristen served in the Michigan State Senate. Most notably, she led the effort to pass the largest tax cut for working families in state history, and helped repeal Michigan’s burdensome retirement tax. After the Dobbs decision, Kristen helped repeal Michigan’s extreme abortion ban and enshrine the right to abortion into Michigan’s constitution.

Prior to serving in elected office, Kristen spent decades advocating for more affordable childcare and better education for every kid in Michigan, including as Executive Director of Michigan Head Start, Chief of Staff the Michigan Department of Education, and Vice President of The Skillman Foundation.

Kristen currently lives in Bay City with her husband Joseph, youngest son Elijah and their cat Tuck. They have five other adult children – Courtney, Grant, Laken, Madison, and Ella.