Hillary Scholten
American politician (born 1982)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hillary Jeanne Scholten (/ˈskoʊltən/ SKOHL-tən; born February 22, 1982)[1][2] 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.[3]
.jpg)
February 22, 1982
Hillary Scholten | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Meijer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hillary Jeanne Scholten February 22, 1982 Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jesse Holcomb (div. 2026) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
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.[4]
Early life and education
Scholten was born on February 22, 1982, in Michigan.[5] She grew up in Hudsonville, a suburb of Grand Rapids. Her mother worked as a public school teacher and her father was a sports journalist for The Grand Rapids Press.[6] Her great-great-grandparents emigrated to West Michigan from the Netherlands; and her parents raised her in the Christian Reformed Church, a Calvinist denomination having its roots in the Dutch Reformed Church.[7][8]
Scholten went to Unity Christian High School and then attended Gordon College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2004.[5] After college, she worked as a social worker, focusing on housing advocacy for the AIDS Action Committee.[6] She later did immigration work for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.[6] She went on to earn a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2011.[5]
Legal career
Following law school, Scholten clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, specializing in immigration law.[6] She later joined the U.S. Department of Justice as an attorney adviser for the Board of Immigration Appeals from 2013 to 2017, where she worked on federal immigration policy during the Obama administration.[9] Afterwards, she went back to Michigan and became a staff attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and later worked in private practice.[6][10]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020
In July 2019, Scholten announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 3rd congressional district in the 2020 elections.[6] She was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.[11] She lost the general election to Republican nominee Peter Meijer,[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]
2022
Scholten ran again in the 2022 elections.[15] She 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.[16]
Scholten was running in a district that 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.[17] Had it existed in 2020, Joe Biden would have won it with 53% of the vote;[18] Donald Trump carried the old 3rd with 51%.[19] Scholten defeated Gibbs 55% to 42% to win election to the 118th United States Congress.[20]
2024
Scholten ran again in the 2024 election. 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.[21]
Tenure
Scholten was sworn into office on January 7, 2023.[22] 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.[23][24] 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.[25][26]
.png){kind=spacer}
In the 119th Congress, Scholten was part of:[27]
Caucus memberships
- Black Maternal Health Caucus[28]
- Congressional Equality Caucus[29]
- 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, quoting Jeremiah 1:5 in a House Floor speech, which received backlash from many Christians.[30] In 2025, Scholten was one of 46 House Democrats who joined Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.[31] In July 2025, Scholten placed blame entirely on Hamas for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, stating, "Hamas started this war and can end it today. But they choose not to."[32]
Personal life
Scholten was married to Jesse Holcomb, a journalism professor at Calvin University, an institution affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). Holcomb filed for divorce from Scholten in January 2026 after 20 years of marriage.[33] They have two sons.[6] She was a longtime member of LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, where she served as a deacon. She left LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church in 2022 over the CRCNA's decision to not affirm homosexuality.[34]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Peter Meijer | 213,649 | 52.96% | |
| Democratic | Hillary Scholten | 189,769 | 47.04% | |
| Independent | Richard Fuentes (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 403,419 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican gain from Libertarian | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hillary Scholten | 185,989 | 54.87% | |
| Republican | John Gibbs | 142,229 | 41.96% | |
| Libertarian | Jamie Lewis | 6,634 | 1.96% | |
| Working Class | Louis Palus | 4,136 | 1.22% | |
| Total votes | 338,988 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hillary Scholten (incumbent) | 225,510 | 53.66% | |
| Republican | Paul Hudson | 183,952 | 43.77% | |
| Libertarian | Alex Avery | 5,281 | 1.26% | |
| Working Class | Louis Palus | 5,546 | 1.32% | |
| Total votes | 420,289 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
