Deborah Ann Stabenow 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.
Debbie Stabenow Parents: Meet Robert Lee Greer, Anna Merle Hallmark
Stabenow was born in Gladwin, Michigan, the daughter of Anna Merle (née Hallmark) and Robert Lee Greer.
She grew up in Clare, Michigan. She graduated from Clare High School, where she was president of her junior class, the first female class president at the school. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University in 1972 and a Master of Social Work magna cum laude from Michigan State University in 1975.
While a graduate student at Michigan State University in 1974, Stabenow ran for public office for the first time, inspired by the threatened closure of a local nursing home.
She won her first election in November 1974, becoming just the third woman elected to the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, on which she served from 1975 to 1978.