Kristen McDonald Rivet is the Democratic congresswoman representing Michigan’s 8th District, a competitive seat spanning mid-Michigan that includes Flint and the Tri-Cities area of Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. First elected in 2024, she won by nearly seven points in a district Donald Trump carried by two — one of the most decisive over-performances by any Democrat in the country that cycle. She now serves on the House Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees and was selected by her colleagues as the Freshman Leadership Representative for the New Democrat Coalition. Cook Political Report has identified MI-08 as the tipping-point seat for control of the House in 2026.
McDonald Rivet was born and raised in Portland, Michigan, in a working-class family. Her father worked construction up to 80 hours a week; her mother stayed home to raise Kristen, her twin sister, and their older sister. She was the first in her family to go to college, earning a BA in history from Michigan State University and later a master’s degree in public administration and education from the University of Michigan–Flint. Before entering politics, she spent decades as a public-service professional and nonprofit leader, serving as Executive Director of Michigan Head Start, Chief of Staff for the Michigan Department of Education, Vice President of the Skillman Foundation, and President and CEO of Greater Midland Inc.
Elected to the Michigan State Senate in 2022, McDonald Rivet quickly built a record of results for working families. She led the effort to expand Michigan’s Working Families Tax Credit — delivering the largest tax cut for working families in state history — helped repeal the state’s retirement tax, and, after the Dobbs decision, helped enshrine abortion rights in Michigan’s constitution. In Congress, she has already had two bills signed into law via the National Defense Authorization Act — protecting Great Lakes jobs and accelerating PFAS cleanup at military sites — introduced bipartisan legislation on child care, rural housing, and prescription drug affordability, and helped return over $10 million to mid-Michigan families and seniors through constituent casework.
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