Who is Hillary Scholten?

Hillary Scholten is an American attorney and politician from the state of Michigan.

She grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan. Her mother was a teacher in Grand Rapids public schools and her father was a sports journalist for The Grand Rapids Press.

Scholten graduated from Gordon College and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Scholten was a judicial law clerk and attorney adviser for the US Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals from 2013 to 2017.

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After Obama’s time in office ended, Scholten moved back to Grand Rapids and became a staff attorney for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

In the 2020 elections, Scholten ran for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan’s 3rd congressional district. She lost the general election to Peter Meijer.

Scholten, who focuses on immigration law, is running again in the 2022 elections. Her announcement sets the stage for a potential rematch with first-term Republican Rep. Peter Meijer in the midterm election. 

“I am running because I know I have the experience, the perspective and the vision needed to lead West Michigan forward together,” Scholten, who worked in the Justice Department during President Barack Obama’s administration, said in an interview Monday before launching her campaign.

Scholten and her husband Jesse Holcomb, a journalism professor at Calvin University, have two sons.

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“Growing up, my mom’s work at a high-poverty school put us in touch with struggling families and students facing difficult times. We opened our homes to these families in ways big and small,” she wrote on her website talking about her family.

“Seeing those families working hard, playing by the rules, and still not getting ahead, disturbed me and refused to let me ignore the injustices right in front of me. So I took the lessons I learned from my mom, and from my church, and dedicated my life to helping others.”

“I led the kids summer program at a local non-profit that helps homeless women and their children (among others) get back on their feet. I later earned a degree in social work and became a case worker for the Aids Action Committee, where I helped members of the LGBTQ+ community who faced housing discrimination,” she added.