Michigan's 8th District
Meet Kristen
Growing up in a small town in Michigan, Kristen McDonald Rivet was raised in a working-class household that valued hard work, education and service to others.
For most of Kristen’s childhood, her Mom stayed home to care for Kristen, her twin sister Karen, and her older sister Lisa-Marie. Kristen’s Dad worked construction, often clocking in 70 to 80 hours a week. When the construction season slowed down and it got cold, he worked snow removal to make ends meet. Like many people in this district, he showered at the end of his work day not before. Her dad wasn’t afraid to get calluses on his hands through a tough day’s work.
Kristen and her sisters were the first generation in the family to go to college, with their Mom joining them at the same time. Kristen went to Michigan State University and later got her master’s degree at University of Michigan-Flint.
The Michigan Dream
Through hard work and grit, the McDonald family was able to achieve what Kristen calls the Michigan Dream: to own a home, pay the bills, put a little away for retirement, and, every once in a while, have the chance to drive to Disney World. As an adult, Kristen has fought tirelessly to help families willing to work hard, like hers growing up, achieve that dream.
A Record of Results
So after school, Kristen got to work helping families and children have more opportunities to thrive, with particular focus on making childcare more affordable. As the Executive Director of Michigan Head Start, Chief of Staff for Michigan’s Department of Education and Vice President of the Skillman Foundation, Kristen worked to make big changes in Michigan to improve child care and education outcomes for children, revitalize communities, increase youth development programs, and create public policy that levels the playing field.
Now, Kristen serves in the Michigan State Senate, where she has worked with both Democrats and Republicans to make progress for Michigan families, workers and kids. She successfully led the charge to pass the largest tax cut for working families in Michigan’s history, repealed the state’s burdensome retirement tax, and has introduced plans to lower critical costs, like prescription drugs, housing, and child care. Kristen has fought to protect abortion rights for women, and, in one of her first acts in the State Senate, passed a commonsense gun violence prevention bill that requires safe storage of firearms around children.
Leveling the Playing Field for Working Families
Now, as inflation, corporate greed, and job losses have made the middle class increasingly out of reach for too many mid-Michiganders, Kristen is running for Congress in Michigan’s 8th District to help level the playing field for working families. Kristen will continue to work with pragmatic leaders from both parties to lower the cost of groceries, housing and prescription drugs, and to invest in child care. She will stand by Michigan seniors and protect Social Security from extremists seeking to privatize, reduce benefits, or raise the retirement age.
Michigan needs more high-wage jobs. Kristen will make sure we invest in our workforce to prepare Michiganders for the jobs of tomorrow, because while college isn’t for everyone, good-paying jobs should be. She will make sure that we make things here in Michigan and stand up to China. And she will always protect our safety, security, and hard-earned freedoms.
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.
