Kildee gives support to McDonald Rivet in key Michigan race
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee on Tuesday endorsed state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet in the hotly contested and nationally important race to succeed him in Congress.
McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, who is midway through her first term in the state Senate, is one of three Democrats seeking the nomination in the 8th Congressional District.
A Kildee has represented the district for more than 47 years. That fact gives the endorsement of retiring U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township — who has represented the district since 2013 after succeeding his uncle, Dale Kildee — some extra weight.
“It’s clear to me that Kristen is the best candidate to represent mid-Michigan going forward,” Kildee said in a news release. “Kristen fights every day for working people, and I know that she will bring the same pragmatic leadership and bipartisan approach to governing that I have tried to champion in Congress.”
Kildee announced the endorsement at a Tuesday campaign rally at the UAW Region 1-D headquarters in Flint, where he was joined by McDonald Rivet and community leaders.
McDonald Rivet said in the news release she is honored by the endorsement for the Aug. 6 primary and hopes to continue Kildee’s legacy.
“The thing about Dan Kildee is that he never gets bogged down by the extremists and political noise in Washington,” she said.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier endorsed McDonald Rivet, on June 25.
Also seeking the Democratic nomination are Matt Collier, who served as mayor of Flint from 1987 to 1991, and Pamela Pugh, of Saginaw, a public health adviser and president of the state Board of Education.
Three candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for the general election race rated a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report.
They are Paul Junge, of Grand Blanc, a former criminal prosecutor and TV anchor; consultant and former Dow executive Mary Draves, of Midland; and trucking company owner Anthony Hudson, of Grand Blanc.
McDonald Rivet grew up in Portland, northwest of Lansing, where her father worked in construction. After receiving degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan-Flint, McDonald Rivet later worked as the executive director of Michigan Head Start, as chief of staff for the state Department of Education and as vice president of the Skillman Foundation.
She also served as president of Greater Midland Inc., a nonprofit providing family services, and as a Bay City commissioner before winning her state Senate seat in 2022. Upon doing so, she became the first Democrat in more than a decade and the first woman to represent the Bay Region in the state Senate.