Kristen McDonald Rivet Bio
Kristen Lee McDonald Rivet is an American politician who has served as the United States representative for Michigan’s 8th congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a Central Michigan district that includes Flint and the Tri-Cities metropolitan area of Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. Before entering Congress, she served in the Michigan Senate for the 35th district and was the assistant majority floor leader from 2023 to 2025. She is also recognized for her earlier career as a nonprofit executive and public administrator in Michigan.
Rivet’s professional background spans child welfare, education policy, and community development. She has led and advised organizations focused on early childhood education, regional growth, and health improvement. Her transition from nonprofit leadership to elected office reflects a long record of public service at the local and state levels.
Early Life and Background
Kristen Lee McDonald Rivet was born on July 11, 1970, in Portland, Michigan, where she was raised alongside her fraternal twin sister, Karen McDonald, and an older sister. Her father worked in construction, and her mother stayed home to raise the children. The small-town setting of Portland shaped her early years and later informed her interest in local civic life.
She attended Portland High School, graduating before moving on to higher education. Rivet went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Michigan State University in 1992. In 2010, she returned to formal study and completed a Master of Public Administration at the University of Michigan–Flint, strengthening her preparation for a career in public service.
Path to US Politics
Before seeking elected office, McDonald Rivet built a career in nonprofit and public-sector leadership. She served as the executive director of Michigan Head Start and later worked within the Michigan Department of Human Services. She also served as chief of staff for State Superintendent Michael P. Flanagan, gaining experience in education policy at the state level.
She later became the vice president of the Skillman Foundation and the president and chief executive officer of Greater Midlands Inc. She also worked with the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance and Michigan Future Inc., focusing on regional economic and health initiatives. Her first elected position was on the Charter Commission for Bay City, Michigan, followed by election to the Bay City Commission, where she represented the city’s 2nd ward.
Kristen McDonald Rivet Career
Early Career (1990s–2020s)
McDonald Rivet’s professional path began in the nonprofit sector with Michigan Head Start, where she served as executive director and worked on early childhood education programs. She moved into state government through a role at the Michigan Department of Human Services and then as chief of staff for State Superintendent Michael P. Flanagan, where she handled education policy matters.
After her time in state government, she joined the Skillman Foundation as vice president and later became president and chief executive officer of Greater Midlands Inc. She also contributed to the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance and Michigan Future Inc. Her election to the Bay City Charter Commission and then to the Bay City Commission marked her entry into elected public service at the local level.
Michigan Senate Breakthrough (2022–2025)
In November 2022, McDonald Rivet was elected to the Michigan Senate, representing the 35th district after defeating Republican state Representative Annette Glenn. She was selected as the assistant majority floor leader, a leadership role that gave her influence over legislative priorities in the state senate.
During her senate tenure, she served on the appropriations, economic and community development, education, and energy and environment committees, as well as several budget subcommittees. She sponsored legislation that expanded Michigan’s Working Families Tax Credit from six percent to thirty percent of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, affecting an estimated 700,000 households. She also introduced the Child Care for All legislative package to broaden access to affordable child care in the state.
Earlier in her tenure, McDonald Rivet sponsored and helped pass legislation requiring the safe storage of firearms, part of a broader legislative package responding to the 2021 Oxford High School and 2023 Michigan State University mass shootings. Her work in the state senate established her as a leading voice on family economic security and gun safety issues.
U.S. House of Representatives Era (2025–Present)
In January 2024, McDonald Rivet declared her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives to represent Michigan’s 8th congressional district, succeeding the retiring Dan Kildee. She campaigned on economic security and family-focused issues, won the Democratic primary, and defeated Republican Paul Junge in the 2024 general election. Although Donald Trump carried the district by two points in the presidential race, McDonald Rivet won by nearly seven points.
She took office on January 3, 2025, and was appointed to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She was also selected as the Freshman Leadership Representative for the New Democrat Coalition. Her committee assignments position her to advocate for rural communities, infrastructure investment, and agricultural policy across her Central Michigan district.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of her early signature efforts in Congress was co-sponsoring the bipartisan Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act, designed to expand federal review of 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. In 2025, she was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.
Kristen McDonald Rivet Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Kristen Lee McDonald Rivet is married to Joseph Rivet, a former politician. Together they have six children and reside in Bay City, Michigan. She is Catholic, and her family life in Bay City has remained a central focus throughout her career in public service.
She was raised in Portland, Michigan, by a father who worked in construction and a mother who stayed home to raise the children. She shares a close bond with her fraternal twin sister, Karen McDonald, and an older sister, all of whom grew up in the same small Michigan community that shaped her early values.