Debbie Stabenow.

• Born: April 29, 1950

Debbie Stabenow was elected to the US Senate in 2000, becoming the first woman to represent Michigan in the chamber. Stabenow's long career in public service also includes experience as county commissioner, state representative, state senator, and US congresswoman. Senator Stabenow, a Democrat, serves on a number of committees, including Budget; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; and the Special Committee on Aging.

Early Life and Career

Deborah Ann Stabenow was born on April 29, 1950, in Gladwin, Michigan, and grew up in nearby Clare. She graduated from Clare High School and Michigan State University, earning her bachelor's degree in 1972 and her master's degree in 1975. Her political career began at the age of twenty-four when she was elected to the Ingham County Board of Commissioners in 1974. Stabenow became chair of the board in 1977 and held the post until 1978, when she was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. She eventually became the first woman to preside over the house and was elected to the state senate in 1990, where she served four years.

In 1994, Stabenow ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Howard Wolpe, the Democrat who defeated her in the primary, selected her to be his running mate in the general election, but they lost to incumbent Republican John Engler.

Road to Washington

In 1996, Stabenow launched her political comeback by running against Republican Representative Dick Chrysler in Michigan's eighth congressional district. Chrysler was attacked by the AFL-CIO in television advertisements criticizing his voting record on labor issues and was also criticized by environmental organizations. Chrysler, running on a platform of low taxes and a balanced budget, accused Stabenow of supporting higher taxes. In one of the nation's most bitter and expensive (each candidate spent about $1.5 million) races, Stabenow defeated Chrysler 54 percent to 44 percent.

Stabenow was reelected to the House in 1998 and the following year decided to challenge Republican Spencer Abraham for his US Senate seat in 2000. She made prescription drugs a central theme in her campaign, bringing busloads of senior citizens across the Canadian border to buy their medications at a lower cost than in the United States. Stabenow continued to receive support from organized labor, which appreciated her votes against permanent normal trade relations for China and fast-track trade authority for the president. Abraham ran for reelection with support from business organizations and touted his roles in balancing the federal budget and bringing highway funds to Michigan.

Opinion polls throughout the Stabenow-Abraham race fluctuated greatly, giving each candidate the lead at different times. In the end, Stabenow defeated the incumbent by about 67,000 votes, a little over 1 percent of those cast.

Senate Highlights

As a new senator, Stabenow continued her push for cheaper prescription drugs for seniors. In 2002, she helped pass legislation allowing drugs to be re-imported from Canada and to make it easier for generic medications to be sold in the United States. In 2003, her party named her coordinator of the Senate Democratic Task Force on Health Care.

On other issues, Stabenow voted for campaign finance reform, farm subsidies and tariffs on foreign steel, and voted against the war in Iraq, drilling for oil in Alaska, and President Bush's tax cuts. She also advocated a moratorium on oil drilling in the Great Lakes and is pushing to ban Canadian garbage trucks from dumping in Michigan landfills.

In the fall of 2002, Stabenow was named vice chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. She defeated Republican challenger Michael Bouchard in her first reelection campaign in 2006. In 2010, she was named chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and in 2017, she was named chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. Following the Flint water crisis, Stabenow arranged $100 million in funding to improve the infrastructure of the city’s water system. She was reelected to the senate until 2025; in early 2023, she announced she would not run for office in 2024. During her final term, Stabenow focused on issues important to her Michigan constituents, including the passage of a farm bill to increase resources for farmers and protect farm and rural lands, as well as securing funding to protect Lake Michigan from an invasive species of carp.

Personal

Debbie Stabenow married Tom Athans, executive director of Democracy Radio, in February 2003; they divorced in 2010. She has two children, Todd and Michelle, from a previous marriage.

Bibliography

Debbie Stabenow, debbiestabenow.com/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

Debbie Stabenow: United States Senator, www.stabenow.senate.gov/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

"Debbie A. Stabenow." Archives of Women's Political Communication at Iowa State University, 13 May 2020, awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/debbie-a-stabenow/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

Spangler, Todd, and Arpan Lobo. "U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow will not seek another term in 2024." Detroit Free Press, 3 Jan. 2023, www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/05/debbie-stabenow-will-not-seek-another-term-senate-2024/69780593007/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.