Hillary Scholten

Hillary Jeanne Scholten ( ; born February 22, 1982) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Her district, which was once represented by former President Gerald Ford, is based in Grand Rapids and includes much of the urban core of West Michigan. Before her election, Scholten worked as an attorney for the Department of Justice and in private practice.

Scholten is the first woman to represent the district, and the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in Congress since Richard Vander Veen left office in 1977.

Early life and education Scholten was born on February 22, 1982, in Grand Rapids. She grew up in Hudsonville southwest of Grand Rapids. Her mother worked as a public school teacher and her father was a sports journalist for The Grand Rapids Press. Her great-great-grandparents emigrated to West Michigan from the Netherlands; and she grew up in the Christian Reformed Church, a Calvinist denomination having its roots in the Dutch Reformed Church.

Hillary Scholten went to Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville and then attended Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2004. Afterwards, she returned to Michigan, became a staff attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and later worked in private practice.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

In July 2019, Scholten announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in in the 2020 elections. She lost the general election to Republican nominee Peter Meijer, 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. 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.

2022

Scholten ran again in 2022 and 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.

Scholten was running in a district which 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 and Grand Haven. If the district had existed in 2020, Joe Biden supposedly would have won there with 53% of the vote; Donald Trump carried the old 3rd with 51%. Scholten defeated Gibbs 55% to 42% to win election to the 118th United States Congress.

2024

Scholten ran again in 2024. 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 Republican challenger and former state Supreme Court candidate Paul Hudson.

2026

Scholten is running for reelection in 2026.

Tenure Scholten was sworn into office on January 7, 2023. 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. During Donald Trump's address to Congress on March 4, 2025, Scholten wore pink, together with many other members of the Democratic Women's Caucus, as a protest. thumb In the 119th Congress, Scholten is part of:

Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development (ranking member) Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chain Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships Black Maternal Health Caucus Congressional Equality Caucus New Democrat Coalition Problem Solvers Caucus Future Forum Democratic Women's Caucus (vice-chair) Child Labor Prevention Task Force (co-chair) Franchise Caucus (co-chair)

Political positions Scholten supports abortion rights and quoted Jeremiah 1:5 in a House Floor speech, which received backlash from many Christians. In 2025, she was one of 46 House Democrats who joined Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act. In July 2025, Scholten placed blame entirely on Hamas for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, "Hamas started this war and can end it today. But they choose not to."

During the 2026 United States Senate election in Michigan, Scholten was criticized for remarks widely considered to be Islamophobic, repeating unsupported claims of sexism and extreme rhetoric by the Democratic nominee and criticizing associations with related and unrelated progressive figures. These attacks continued, resulting in questions at a town hall to ask whether Scholten's rhetoric was encouraging hate speech and aimed at maintaining taxpayer support for Israel rather than sincere concerns.

Personal life Scholten was married to Jesse Holcomb, a journalism professor at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, an institution affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). Holcomb filed for divorce from Scholten in January 2026 after 20 years of marriage. They have two sons.

Electoral history