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Hillary Scholten

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Hillary Scholten
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byPeter Meijer
Personal details
Born
Hillary Jeanne Scholten

(1982-02-22) February 22, 1982 (age 43)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJesse Holcomb
Children2
Education
WebsiteHouse website

Hillary Jeanne Scholten (/ˈskoʊltən/ SKOHL-tən; born February 22, 1982)[1][2] is an American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 2023. She is the first woman to represent the district and the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in Congress since the 1970s.[3] Before her election, Scholten worked as an attorney for the Department of Justice and in private practice. Her district area, once represented by former President Gerald Ford, includes Grand Rapids and much of the urban core of West Michigan.[4]

Early life and education

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Scholten was born on February 22, 1982, in Michigan.[5] She grew up in Hudsonville, a suburb of Grand Rapids. Her mother worked as a public school teacher and her father was a sports journalist for The Grand Rapids Press.[6] Her great-great-grandparents emigrated to West Michigan from the Netherlands; and her parents raised her in the Christian Reformed Church, a Calvinist denomination having its roots in the Dutch Reformed Church.[7][8]

Scholten went to Unity Christian High School and then attended Gordon College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2004.[5] After college, she worked as a social worker, focusing on housing advocacy for the AIDS Action Committee.[6] She later did immigration work for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.[6] She went on to earn a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2011.[5]

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Following law school, Scholten clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, specializing in immigration law.[6] She later joined the U.S. Department of Justice as an attorney adviser for the Board of Immigration Appeals from 2013 to 2017, where she worked on federal immigration policy during the Obama administration.[9] Afterwards, she went back to Michigan and became a staff attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and later worked in private practice.[6][10]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2020

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See also: 2020 Michigan's 3rd congressional district election
Michigan's 3rd congressional district up until 2023

In July 2019, Scholten announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 3rd congressional district in the 2020 elections.[6] She was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.[11] She lost the general election to Republican nominee Peter Meijer,[12] but came the closest a Democrat had come to winning the district since 1982, when incumbent Republican Harold S. Sawyer was held to 51% in what was then the 5th district.[13] It was also only the second time since 1982 that a Democrat had received 40% of the vote; the Democratic nominee received 43% two years earlier.[14]

2022

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See also: 2022 Michigan's 3rd congressional district election
Scholten and the first time members of the 118th Congress, 2023

Scholten ran again in the 2022 elections.[15] She was again unopposed in the Democratic primary. She was initially preparing for a rematch against Peter Meijer, but Meijer lost the Republican primary to a considerably more conservative challenger, former Trump administration official John Gibbs.[16]

Scholten was running in a district that had been made much friendlier to Democrats in redistricting; it had been pushed to the west to grab a large portion of the Lake Michigan shoreline, including Muskegon.[17] Had it existed in 2020, Joe Biden would have won it with 53% of the vote;[18] Donald Trump carried the old 3rd with 51%.[19] Scholten defeated Gibbs 55% to 42% to win election to the 118th United States Congress.[20]

2024

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See also: 2024 Michigan's 3rd congressional district election

Scholten ran again in the 2024 election. She had token opposition in the Democratic primary, winning 91% of the vote. She went on to win the general election winning 53.7% of the vote against a Republican opponent.[21]

Tenure

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Scholten was sworn into office on January 7, 2023.[22] She joined in the calls in 2024 for Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee, becoming the first in Michigan's congressional delegation to do so, leading to retaliation from Biden allies.[23][24]

Committee assignments

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Scholten on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Scholten's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:[25]

Caucus memberships

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Scholten's caucus memberships include:[25]

Political positions

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Scholten supports abortion rights.[26] In a speech opposing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, she cited Jeremiah 1:5, which states, "I knew you before I formed you and placed you in your mother's womb", a verse commonly cited by Christians "to make theological or scriptural arguments in favor of legal protections for preborn children".[27][28]

In 2025, Scholten was one of 46 House Democrats who joined Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.[29]

Personal life

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Scholten is married to Jesse Holcomb, a journalism professor at Calvin University, a Reformed Christian institute. They have two sons.[6] She is a member of LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, where she serves as a deacon.[30] She describes herself as a devout Christian who has strong faith.[31]

Electoral history

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Michigan's 3rd congressional district, 2020[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Peter Meijer 213,649 52.96%
Democratic Hillary Scholten 189,769 47.04%
Independent Richard Fuentes (write-in) 1 0.00%
Total votes 403,419 100.0
Republican gain from Libertarian
Michigan's 3rd congressional district, 2022[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hillary Scholten 185,989 54.87%
Republican John Gibbs 142,229 41.96%
Libertarian Jamie Lewis 6,634 1.96%
Working Class Louis Palus 4,136 1.22%
Total votes 338,988 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
Michigan's 3rd congressional district, 2024[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hillary Scholten (incumbent) 225,510 53.66%
Republican Paul Hudson 183,952 43.77%
Libertarian Alex Avery 5,281 1.26%
Working Class Louis Palus 5,546 1.32%
Total votes 420,289 100.0
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "Candidate Conversation: Hillary Scholten (D)". Inside Elections.
  2. ^ McVicar, Brian (October 2, 2020). "Democrat Hillary Scholten Raises $1.5M in Race to Replace Congressman Amash, Tops GOP Rival Meijer". MLive. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Beggin, Riley. "Scholten defeats Gibbs in west Michigan U.S. House race". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  4. ^ Saksa, Jim (September 14, 2023). "For Hillary Scholten, faith (and Jerry Ford) led the way to Congress". Roll Call. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Scholten, Hillary". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Nann Burke, Melissa (July 8, 2019). "Democrat Scholten joins race for Amash's seat in U.S. House". The Detroit News. Detroitnews.com. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  7. ^ Watson, Kathryn (October 19, 2020). "Democratic Candidate Says She Has the Faith to Turn Western Michigan Blue". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on November 1, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  8. ^ Staff, T. W. N. "MI-03: Hillary Scholten (D)". Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  9. ^ "Immigration attorney jumps into Democratic primary for 3rd Congressional District". mlive. July 8, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "Rep. Hillary Scholten - D Michigan, 3rd, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  11. ^ Rod, Marc (August 3, 2020). "The race to succeed Rep. Justin Amash heats up". Jewish Insider.
  12. ^ Boucher, Dave. "Peter Meijer defeats Hillary Scholten in west Michigan congressional race". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "MI District 5 Race – Nov 02, 1982". Our Campaigns.
  14. ^ "Our Campaigns – MI District 03 Race – Nov 06, 2018".
  15. ^ "Hillary Scholten jumping into Democratic primary to replace Rep. Peter Meijer in Congress". mlive. February 1, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "Peter Meijer concedes to John Gibbs in Republican primary for 3rd Congressional District race". Michigan Radio. August 3, 2022.
  17. ^ Nisa Khan; Emma Ruberg (February 14, 2022). "The changes to Michigan's congressional map, district by district". Michigan Radio.
  18. ^ Nir, David (November 14, 2022). "Daily Kos presidential results by congressional district". Daily Kos.
  19. ^ Nir, David (November 19, 2020). "Presidential election results by congressional district". Daily Kos.
  20. ^ "Scholten defeats Gibbs for Grand Rapids Congress seat". Freep.com. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  21. ^ Booth-Singleton, DeJanay (November 6, 2024). "Rep. Hillary Scholten wins re-election in Michigan's 3rd District, CBS News projects - CBS Detroit". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  22. ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601. "Hillary J. Scholten (Michigan (MI)), 119th Congress Profile". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 6, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ Detroit News (July 11, 2024). "Democratic Michigan congresswoman joins calls for Biden to 'step aside' as nominee".
  24. ^ Politico (July 18, 2024). "Biden allies retaliated against a Dem who called for him to step aside".
  25. ^ a b "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Hillary Scholten. January 3, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  26. ^ McVicar, Brian; Frick, Melissa (November 9, 2022). "Hillary Scholten defeats Trump-backed John Gibbs for West Michigan congressional seat". mlive. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  27. ^ Kamman, Samantha; Reporter, Christian Post (January 13, 2023). "Democrat cites Jeremiah 1:5 to defend abortion: 'It doesn't say the government's womb'". The Christian Post. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  28. ^ Saksa, Jim (September 14, 2023). "For Hillary Scholten, faith (and Jerry Ford) led the way to Congress - Roll Call". rollcall.com. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  29. ^ Rashid, Hafiz (January 22, 2025). "The 46 Democrats Who Voted for Republicans' Racist Immigration Bill". The New Republic. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  30. ^ Rani, Rikha Sharma (August 3, 2020). "Could These Evangelical Democrats Change the Party?". POLITICO. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  31. ^ "Representative Hillary Scholten". scholtenforms.house.gov. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  32. ^ "2020 Michigan Election Results Official". Michigan Secretary of State. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  33. ^ "2022 Michigan Election Results - General". Michigan Secretary of State. November 28, 2022. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  34. ^ "2024 Michigan Election Results - General". Michigan Secretary of State. Retrieved January 10, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 3rd congressional district
2023–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
356th 		Succeeded by
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