Kristen McDonald Rivet
Kristen Lee McDonald Rivet is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 8th congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Michigan Senate for the 35th district, where she was the assistant majority floor leader from 2023 to 2025. Her district, located in Central Michigan, includes Flint and the [Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City, Michigan|Bay City metropolitan area|Tri-Cities metropolitan area] of Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City.
Early life and education
McDonald Rivet was born on July 11, 1970, in Portland, Michigan, where she was raised with her fraternal twin sister, Karen McDonald, and an older sister. Her father was a construction worker, while her mother stayed home to raise the children.She went to Portland High School and then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Michigan State University in 1992. She later earned a master's degree in public administration and education from the University of Michigan–Flint in 2010.
Career
Before entering politics, McDonald Rivet served as the executive director of Michigan Head Start. She later worked in the Michigan department of human services and as the chief of staff for State Superintendent Michael P. Flanagan.She went on to become the vice president of the Skillman Foundation and later served as president and chief executive officer of Greater Midlands Inc. She also worked at the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance and Michigan Future Inc.
McDonald Rivet's first elected position was as a member of the Charter Commission for Bay City, Michigan. She was subsequently elected to the Bay City Commission, representing the city's 2nd ward.
Michigan Senate
McDonald Rivet was elected to the Michigan Senate in November 2022, defeating Republican state Representative Annette Glenn. She represented the state's 35th district and was the assistant majority floor leader. She served on the appropriations, economic and community development, education, energy and environment committees, and on several budget subcommittees.While in the state senate, McDonald Rivet sponsored legislation that expanded the state's Working Families Tax Credit from six percent to thirty percent of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit for 700,000 households. She subsequently introduced the Child Care for All legislative package to expand access to affordable child care in the state.
Earlier in her tenure, she sponsored and helped pass legislation requiring the safe storage of firearms, part of a broader legislative package in response to the 2021 Oxford High School and 2023 Michigan State University mass shootings.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2024
In January 2024, McDonald Rivet declared her candidacy to run for the United States House of Representatives for Michigan's 8th congressional district to replace the retiring Dan Kildee in the 2024 Democratic primary. She campaigned on economic security and family-focused issues, won the Democratic primary, and defeated Republican Paul Junge in the general election. Although Donald Trump carried the district by two points in the presidential race, McDonald Rivet won by nearly seven points.Tenure
McDonald Rivet took office on January 3, 2025, representing Michigan’s 8th congressional district. She was appointed to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and was selected as the Freshman Leadership Representative for the New Democrat Coalition.As a member of the Agriculture Committee, she co-sponsored the bipartisan Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense Act, which was designed to expand the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review foreign purchases of U.S. farmland, particularly those involving entities connected to China. She also introduced the Susan Muffley Act of 2025 to restore pension benefits to 21,000 salaried retirees from Delphi, an auto parts supplier with former operations in Saginaw, Michigan, which went bankrupt during the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2025, McDonald Rivet was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:- Committee on Agriculture
- *Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit
- *Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- *Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
- *Subcommittee on Highways and Transit