Michigan New Members 2023

Rep.-elect Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.-3)

DATE OF BIRTH: Feb. 22, 1982
RESIDENCE: Grand Rapids, Mich.
OCCUPATION: attorney
EDUCATION: B.A., Gordon College; J.D., University of Maryland
FAMILY: husband, Jesse Holcomb; two children

• Democrat Hillary Scholten, an attorney who worked for the Justice Department during the Obama administration, will be representing Michigan’s historically conservative 3rd Congressional District in Congress.

Scholten will be the first Democrat in nearly 50 years to represent Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second-largest city, in the U.S. House after defeating GOP nominee John Gibbs.

She wins the seat vacated by Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), a one-term lawmaker who was ousted in the GOP primary.

Scholten, a civil rights and immigration attorney, first made a name for herself as a clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

Scholten made her work for the Justice Department a main point in her campaign, and said her goal was to fix a system that “is rigged for the wealthy and well-connected.”

— Ellen Mitchell

Rep.-elect John James (R-Mich.-10)

DATE OF BIRTH: June 8, 1981
RESIDENCE: Farmington Hills, Mich.
OCCUPATION: president, James Group
EDUCATION: B.S., U.S. Military Academy; MBA, University of Michigan; MSCM, Penn State University
FAMILY: wife, Elizabeth James; three children

• Republican John James was elected to Michigan’s newly redistricted 10th District. James defeated Democratic nominee Carl Marlinga.

James, a top GOP recruit, was previously the nominee for Senate in Michigan in 2018 and 2020, narrowly losing to Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, respectively.

A West Point graduate, James served eight years in the U.S. Army and became a Ranger-qualified Apache helicopter pilot. He served multiple tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  

In 2012, he joined his father’s logistics company, James Group International, which deals with automotive parts and other goods. Along the way, he obtained master’s degrees in supply chain management from Penn State University and in business from the University of Michigan.

He will be one of a handful of Black members of the House Republican Conference. In a campaign video, he described himself as “an open-minded, free-thinking conservative.”

— Emily Brooks

Rep.-elect Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.-13)

DATE OF BIRTH: Feb. 22, 1955
RESIDENCE: Lansing, Mich.
OCCUPATION: Michigan state representative
EDUCATION: B.S., Karnatak University; M.S, Bombay University; Ph.D., University of Akron; MBA, Fontbonne University
FAMILY: wife, Shashi Thanedar; two sons

• Rep.-elect Shri Thanedar (D) will replace fellow Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District as she shifts to the state’s 12th District after redistricting.

Thanedar easily defeated Republican Martell Bivings in this year’s midterm election, receiving 71.1 percent of the vote compared to his opponent’s 24 percent.

The current Michigan state representative immigrated to the state in the 1970s at the age of 24 after growing up impoverished in India. 

Thanedar earned an MBA and Ph.D. in chemistry and spent 25 years as an entrepreneur founding various small businesses before retiring to pursue a political career. 

He ran for governor in 2018 but lost the Democratic primary to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, partially due to a donation he made to Republican presidential candidate John McCain. He was elected to the state House in 2020.

Thanedar emphasizes his commitment to social justice issues including abortion rights, voting rights and racial justice.

— Chloe Folmar