Deborah Ann Stabenow (born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female U.S. senator after defeating Republican incumbent Spencer Abraham in the 2000 election. Before her election to the Senate, she 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.