Debbie Stabenow

Debbie Stabenow
Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee
In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2025
Leader	Chuck Schumer
Preceded by	Chuck Schumer
Succeeded by	Amy Klobuchar (Steering and Policy) Cory Booker (Strategic Communications)
Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
In office February 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025
Preceded by	Pat Roberts
Succeeded by	John Boozman
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Blanche Lincoln
Succeeded by	Pat Roberts
Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – February 3, 2021
Preceded by	Thad Cochran
Succeeded by	John Boozman
Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Leader	Harry Reid
Preceded by	Barbara Mikulski
Succeeded by	Patty Murray
United States Senator from Michigan
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2025
Preceded by	Spencer Abraham
Succeeded by	Elissa Slotkin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 8th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Dick Chrysler
Succeeded by	Mike Rogers
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 24th district
In office January 12, 1991 – January 14, 1994
Preceded by	William A. Sederburg
Succeeded by	Joe Schwarz
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 58th district
In office January 6, 1979 – January 12, 1991
Preceded by	Thomas M. Holcomb
Succeeded by	Dianne Byrum
Chair of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners
In office January 1977 – January 1979
Preceded by	Ken Hope
Succeeded by	Bill Sweet
Member of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners from the 13th district
In office January 1975 – January 1979
Preceded by	Gordon Swix
Succeeded by	Dennis Willard
Personal details
Born	Deborah Greer (1950-04-29) April 29, 1950 (age 74) Gladwin, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Dennis Stabenow ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1989)​ Tom Athans ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2010)​
Children	2
Education	Michigan State University (BA, MSW)
Signature
Website	Senate website
Stabenow's voice Stabenow supporting the Growing Climate Solutions Act. Recorded June 24, 2021

Deborah Ann Stabenow (/ˈstæbənaʊ/ STAB-ə-now; née Greer; born April 29, 1950) is an American politician who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States senator from Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she was Michigan's first female U.S. senator.

Before her election to the Senate, Stabenow was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001. Previously, she served on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners and in the Michigan State Legislature.

Stabenow was reelected to Senate in 2006, 2012, and 2018. She became the state's senior U.S. senator upon Carl Levin's retirement in 2015. Stabenow chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2011 to 2015 and again since 2021. She became chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee in 2017. At the start of the 118th Congress, Stabenow became the dean of the Michigan congressional delegation, upon the retirement of Representative Fred Upton. In January 2023, she announced that she would not seek reelection in 2024.^[1][2]