Candidate · November 3, 2026

Hillary Scholten

On the ballot for U.S. House · Michigan's 3rd District

Democratic PartyIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$3.0M
cash on hand
$1.5M
issues with public statements
14
outside spending for or against
$802K

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. House · Michigan's 3rd District1
Party on the ballotDemocratic Party1
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents Michigan's 3rd District in the U.S. House.2
Also on the ballot

§2Who they are

Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Hillary Scholten earned a degree in social work and worked as a case worker for the AIDS Action Committee, then earned her law degree from the University of Maryland Thurgood Marshall School of Law.3,4 She clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, worked at the U.S. Department of Justice on immigration and civil rights matters, and later worked at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.3,4 She was elected to the U.S. House in 2022 and re-elected in 2024, and serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Small Business.5,6

Why they say they're running

Her campaign website says she is running for a third term with a focus on bringing down costs, making health care more affordable and ending corruption in government, and that she is seeking re-election because there is still work to do.3,5

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, MI-32
  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, MI-32

Websites and accounts

§3What they've said on the issues

Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.

Health Care

Health insurance system

Her campaign website says she defends the Affordable Care Act and works to expand on it, and that she supports policies barring insurers from raising rates on people who get sick, denying coverage for pre-existing conditions or dropping people when they get sick.9

Family and Social Policy

Paid family and medical leave

Her campaign website says she will continue to fight for paid family and medical leave.9

Abortion and Reproductive Health

Abortion law

Her campaign website says decisions about becoming a mother and about handling a complicated or life-threatening pregnancy belong to women and not politicians, and that she will always protect a woman's right to choose.9

Social Security and Medicare

Social Security retirement age

Her campaign website says she opposes efforts to raise the retirement age.9

  1. Raise the full retirement age
  2. Keep it at 67
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Social Security benefit levels

Her campaign website says, in its Social Security and Medicare section, that she opposes efforts to cut or privatize the social safety net.9

Medicare drug price negotiation

Her campaign website says she advocates letting Medicare negotiate the cost of drug prices.9

Taxes and Budget

Fraud and improper payments in federal programs

Her campaign website says she wants Social Security and Medicare to run more efficiently by going after waste, fraud and abuse.9

Energy and Climate

Clean energy tax credits

Her campaign website says she is leading the push to invest in a new energy economy through tax credits for renewable energy innovation.9

Foreign Policy and Defense

Economic ties with China

Her campaign website says Michigan should invest in its semiconductor manufacturing capability and the country should stand up to China when it threatens the global supply chain.9

Infrastructure and Transportation

Highway and transit funding

Her campaign website says she is working to secure Michigan's fair share of federal road funding and to have roads repaired with the right materials.9

Elections and Government Reform

Voting by mail

Her campaign website says she supports federal legislation to expand vote-by-mail and early voting nationwide.9

Drawing district lines (redistricting)

Her campaign website says she supports federal legislation to end partisan gerrymandering.9

Guns

Background checks for gun sales

Her campaign website lists universal background checks among the gun safety reforms she supports.9

  1. Require checks for all gun sales, including private sales (with exceptions such as gifts between family members)
  2. Require checks for private sales at gun shows and online, but not other private sales
  3. Keep current law, with checks required only for sales by licensed dealers
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Red flag laws

Her campaign website lists red flag laws among the gun safety reforms she supports.9

  1. Adopt more red flag laws, including a national one
  2. Leave the choice to each state
  3. Repeal existing red flag laws and adopt no new ones
Marked: the option their statement matches.

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Hillary Scholten served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Hillary Scholten sponsored or cosponsored 39 of the 52. How bills die without a vote.

See all 52

§5Money

Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.

Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.62

Raised$3,034,438
Spent$1,852,381
Cash on hand$1,531,772
Debts owed by the campaign$92,550

Where the money came from

Individual donors$2.0M · 67%
PACs and other political committees$886K · 29%
Political party committees$1,120 · 0%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$72K · 2%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$28K · 1%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $192,540 supporting and $609,881 opposing Hillary Scholten this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 22, 2026.63

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
WEST MICHIGAN FOR COMMON SENSE—$609,881
Protect Progress$148,763—
Community Change Voters$18,064—
For Our Future$14,463—
For Michigan Action Fund$11,250—

Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.