Winnie Brinks

Winnie Brinks (born Winnie De Vries on February 17, 1968) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Michigan Senate since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Brinks assumed office as Majority Leader of the Senate on January 1, 2023; she is the first woman to ever hold the office, and the first Democrat to do so since William Faust left office in 1984. Brinks previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018, worked as an executive at a non-profit before seeking office. In the House, she served on the Workforce and Talent Development, Education, Health Policy, and Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committees.

She was selected as gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson's running mate in 2026.

Education and early career Brinks earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Calvin College. She also was a caseworker at The Source, an employee support organization.

Political career Brinks was recruited to run for office after Roy Schmidt, who had previously been elected to the Michigan House as a Democrat, switched to the Republican Party at the deadline to file for re-election, leaving no legitimate Democratic candidate on the primary ballot. Brinks ran in the primary as a write-in candidate, exceeding the 1,000 votes required to win the Democratic nomination. She then defeated Schmidt in the November general election.

Due to term limits, Brinks was unable to run for re-election in 2018, and instead ran successfully for the 29th district of the Michigan Senate. Brinks defeated fellow state representative Chris Afendoulis, a Republican, and Libertarian and Working Class Party candidates. She succeeded Dave Hildenbrand, also a Republican, who was required by term limits to vacate the seat.

Following the 2022 Michigan Senate election, where the Democratic Party won control of the State Senate, Brinks was chosen as the majority leader of the Michigan Senate Democrats. Brinks is the first female majority leader of the State Senate.

On August 19, 2026, Brinks was selected by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson as running mate.

Political positions As Senate majority leader, Brinks voted for the repeal of Michigan's right-to-work law, stating: "We've talked a lot about bringing good job creators here to our state. But we haven't talked nearly enough about how we’re going to attract and keep workers and their families." In 2023, Brinks voted to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity continuing a long history of support for the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2025, when the Michigan House passed a resolution calling for Michigan High School Athletic Association to ban transgender girls from girls' sports, Brinks stated of the Democratic-controlled Senate: "We will not be attacking kids. We will not be taking this up."

Personal life Brinks is third cousins, twice removed, of Pete Hoekstra. She married Steve Brinks in 1992.