Candidate · November 3, 2026

Kristen McDonald Rivet

On the ballot for U.S. House · Michigan's 8th District

Democratic PartyIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$6.9M
cash on hand
$2.7M
issues with public statements
13
outside spending for or against
$770K

§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 8th District1
Party on the ballotDemocratic Party1
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents Michigan's 8th 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.

Kristen McDonald Rivet attended Michigan State University and earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.3 She was Executive Director of Michigan Head Start, Chief of Staff of the Michigan Department of Education and Vice President of The Skillman Foundation.3,4 She served as a Bay City Commissioner and in the Michigan State Senate before being elected to the U.S. House.4,5 She represents Michigan's 8th District and serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Agriculture.4,6

Why they say they're running

Her campaign website says her main priority in Congress is to confront a broken system and make things fairer for working families, and that she is committed to restoring what it calls the Michigan Dream of owning a home, paying the bills and saving for retirement.3

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, MI-82

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.

Elections and Government Reform

Stock trading by members of Congress

Her campaign website says she introduced a bill with members of both parties that would bar members of Congress from trading stock or taking part in prediction markets where they have insider information.10

Campaign finance rules

Her campaign website says she is fighting to remove big, unlimited money from politics and is leading efforts to reverse Citizens United.10

  1. Limit spending by outside groups, including by amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United
  2. Keep spending unlimited but require groups to name their major donors
  3. Keep current rules
  4. Raise or remove limits on donations to candidates and parties
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Drawing district lines (redistricting)

Her campaign website says she backs bills that would extend Michigan's approach to preventing gerrymandering to the whole country.10

Economy, Jobs and Trade

Tariffs

Her campaign website says she is working to end tariffs that it describes as reckless.11

Housing

Large investors buying single-family homes

Her campaign website says she is working to stop Wall Street from buying up housing.11

Health Care

Health insurance system

Her campaign website says she is fighting to give every American the option to buy into Medicare, and that she led the effort to pass a tax cut through the House for families who purchase health care.12

  1. One government plan for everyone (Medicare for All)
  2. Add a government plan that anyone can choose to buy
  3. Keep the current mix of private and public coverage, including the ACA
  4. Fewer federal insurance rules and more private plan choices, with aid paid to individuals
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Federal Medicaid funding

Her campaign website says a $1 trillion Medicaid cut made health care costs worse, raising premiums 17% for working families in Michigan.12

Crime, Policing and Prisons

Police funding

Her campaign website says local police and sheriffs have been underfunded, that she increased funding to hire more officers as a Bay City Commissioner, brought millions back to local departments in the state Senate and secured millions in federal investment in Congress, and that she is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill to fund local law enforcement in full.5

  1. Increase police funding, for example to hire more officers
  2. Keep funding near current levels
  3. Shift some police funding to mental health, housing or other services
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Energy and Climate

Electric vehicles

Her campaign website says that when her own party backed an electric vehicle mandate that she says would eliminate Michigan auto jobs, she opposed it and helped block it.13

Family and Social Policy

Food assistance (SNAP)

Her campaign website says she led a push to let working families who use SNAP purchase hot rotisserie chicken.3

Child care costs

Her campaign website says her career has focused on making child care more affordable and that she has introduced bipartisan bills to invest in child care.3

Social Security and Medicare

Social Security benefit levels

Her campaign website says she protects Social Security from people seeking to reduce benefits.3

Foreign Policy and Defense

Economic ties with China

Her campaign website says she fights to make sure things are made in Michigan and to stand up to China.3

§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 Kristen McDonald Rivet served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Kristen McDonald Rivet sponsored or cosponsored 19 of the 26. How bills die without a vote.

See all 26

§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, 2026.40

Raised$6,922,879
Spent$4,265,040
Cash on hand$2,674,869

Where the money came from

Individual donors$4.4M · 64%
PACs and other political committees$1.9M · 27%
Political party committees$5,107 · 0%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$539K · 8%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$87K · 1%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $484,379 supporting and $285,853 opposing Kristen McDonald Rivet this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 23, 2026.41

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
America PAC—$159,560
CENTER FORWARD COMMITTEE$150,000—
ROLLING SEA ACTION FUND$150,000—
NO GOING BACK PAC INC.—$93,520
Charter Schools Action PAC$53,903—
AB PAC$43,538—
WelcomePAC$35,145—
National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee$31,882—

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.