Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, is a former ranking member on the

House Ways and Means Committee The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

; he was Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee from 2010 to 2011. He is the older brother of former U.S. Senator

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services ...

, and the father of current Congressman

Andy Levin Andrew Saul Levin (born August 10, 1960) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Levin was elected to the House in 2018, succeeding his retiring father, Sander ...

, his successor. In December 2017, Levin announced that he would retire from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

. His son Andy was elected on November 6, 2018, and took office in the

116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on Januar ...

, which commenced on January 3, 2019.

Early life and education

Levin was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Jewish parents Bess Rachel (née Levinson) and Saul R. Levin. He graduated from Central High School in Detroit, received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the ...

in 1952, a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in international relations from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1954, and a law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...

in 1957. Afterwards, he developed a private practice in Detroit.

State politics

Levin was named chairman of the

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...

Democratic Party in 1962. He was elected as

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

for the 13th district in 1964, defeating Republican George W. Kuhn. Levin served in the position until 1970. Following the 1967 resignation of

Michigan Democratic Party The Michigan Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Michigan. It is based in Lansing. Lavora Barnes is the party's current chair. She was previously the party's Chief Operating Officer. The party currently co ...

chairman Zolton Ferency, Levin was elected state party chairman on December 17. He resigned his position as minority

floor leader In politics, floor leaders, also known as a caucus leader, are leaders of their respective political party in a body of a legislature. Philippines In the Philippines each body of the bicameral Congress has a majority floor leader and a mi ...

the following January. He served as Senate minority leader from January 1969 to January 1970, when he resigned to run for governor. He made unsuccessful campaigns for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the st ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, both times losing to Republican

William Milliken William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, servi ...

. He was a Fellow of the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in 1975. From 1977 through 1981 he was assistant administrator of the

Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1982, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman William Brodhead decided not to run for re-election, instead making an unsuccessful run for governor. Levin won the Democratic primary in Michigan's 17th congressional district with 49% of the vote, which at that time included northwestern Detroit as well as parts of Macomb and Oakland counties. Levin subsequently won this 1982 general election with 67% of the vote. He typically won re-election with at least 56% of the vote since then, exceptions being 1992 and 1994 elections. After the 1990 United States Census, his district was renumbered as the 12th district and lost its share of Detroit. In 1992, he narrowly defeated businessman and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietna ...

veteran John Pappageorge 53%-46%. In a 1994 rematch, Levin again defeated this same opponent, during the midst of the

Republican Revolution The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. mid-term elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of ...

, 52%-47%. Then again in 1996, Levin defeated Pappageorge by a larger margin in a third rematch 57%-41%. In 1998, Levin won re-election against Republican nominee Leslie A. Touma, 56%-42%. In 2000, Detroit Metro area businessman Bart Baron gained the endorsement of the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

Union, but Levin still managed to win re-election with 64% of the vote. The 2000s redistricting added heavily Democratic Southfield and Mount Clemens to the district, and he won re-election in every election with at least 61% of the vote since. ;2012 After redistricting, Levin's district was merged with the 9th District of fellow Democrat

Gary Peters Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...

. The district retained Peters' district number—the 9th—but geographically was more Levin's district. Peters opted to run in the newly redrawn 14th District. This effectively handed the Democratic nomination to Levin. While he lost Southfield to the 14th, it picked up the rest of Royal Oak, as well as Oak Park, Clawson and Berkley, among other locations. It was no less Democratic than its predecessor, and Levin breezed to a 16th term with 61.4 percent of the vote.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Ways and Means (former Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Trade (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Income Security Levin took over as chairman of the Ways and Means committee on March 4, 2010, when Charles B. Rangel of New York stepped aside in due to a number of ethics violations. Levin served as chairman until January 2011 and ranking member until the end of 2016. Levin was a member of the

House Baltic Caucus The House Baltic Caucus is a bipartisan registered Caucus of the House of Representatives since its inception in 1997 and is composed of members from both the Democratic and Republican Parties. The members of the House Baltic Caucus have a st ...

and the Congressional Arts Caucus.

Political positions

Foreign policy

As a member of Congress, Levin was a supporter of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He supported the nuclear deal with Iran, and said that Israel, the region, and the world would be more secure under the Iran nuclear deal.

Personal life

His wife of 50 years, Vicki Schlafer, died on September 4, 2008. They had four children: Andy, Jennifer, Madeleine, and Matthew and ten grandchildren. In a private ceremony in July 2012, Levin married Pamela Cole, age 61, a

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State bec ...

psychology professor who studies emotional development. They met through his late wife Vicki. Cole and Levin worked to create a fund in her name for young professionals researching early childhood development. Levin comes from a family that has long been prominent in Michigan politics. His younger brother

was the state's senior Senator until his retirement in January 2015. His uncle, Theodore, was a federal judge. His first cousin Charles was a

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...

justice, after serving as a

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of ...

judge. Another first cousin, Joseph Levin, was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. His son

was an unsuccessful candidate for the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ad ...

in 2006, but in 2018 was elected to succeed him in the United States House of Representatives.

Electoral history

, + : Results 1982–1990 ! Year ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 116,901 , , 67% , , , Gerald Rosen , , 55,620 , , 32% , , , Virginia Cropsey , ,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...

, , 2,955 , , 2% , , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 133,064 , , 100% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , , , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 105,031 , , 76% , , , Calvin Williams , , 30,879 , , 22% , , , Charles Martell , ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, , 1,477 , , 1% , , - ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicentenn ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 135,493 , , 70% , , , Dennis Flessland , , 55,197 , , 29% , , , Charles Hahn , ,

, , 2,333 , , 1% , , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 92,205 , , 70% , , , Blaine Lankford , , 40,100 , , 30% , , , , , , , + : Results 1992–2010 ! Year ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 137,514 , , 53% , , , John Pappageorge , , 119,357 , , 46% , , , Charles Hahn , ,

, align="right" , 2,751 , align="right" , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", R. W. Montgomery , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

Natural Law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted ...

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,724 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1% , , , , , , , - ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 103,508 , , 52% , , , John Pappageorge , , 92,762 , , 47% , , , Jerome White , , No party affiliation , , 1,386 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Eric Anderson , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,340 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1% , , , , , , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 133,436 , , 57% , , , John Pappageorge , , 94,235 , , 41% , , , Albert Titran , ,

, , 3,101 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Gail Petrosoff , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,690 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1% , , , , , , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 105,824 , , 56% , , , Leslie Touma , , 79,619 , , 42% , , , Albert Titran , ,

, , 2,813 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Fred Rosenberg , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,172 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1% , , , , , , , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen fro ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 157,720 , , 64% , , , Bart Baron , , 78,795 , , 32% , , , Thomas Ness , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a c ...

, , 4,137 , , 2% , , , Andrew LeCureaux , ,

, , 3,630 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Fred Rosenberg , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 887 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 0% , , - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 140,970 , , 68% , , , Harvey Dean , , 61,502 , , 30% , , , Dick Gach , ,

, align="right" , 2,694 , align="right" , 1% , , , Steven Revis , , U.S. Taxpayers , , 1,362 , , 1% , , , , , , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 210,827 , , 69% , , , Randell Shafer , , 88,256 , , 29% , , , Dick Gach , ,

, , 5,051 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 168,494 , , 71% , , , Randell Shafer , , 62,689 , , 26% , , , Andrew LeCureaux , ,

, , 3,259 , , 1% , , , Jerome White , , No party affiliation , , 1,862 , , 1% , , , Art Myatt , ,

, , 1,735 , , 1% , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 225,094 , , 72% , , , Bert Copple , , 74,565 , , 24% , , , John Vico , ,

, , 4,767 , , 2% , , , Les Townsend , , U.S. Taxpayers , , 4,076 , , 1% , , , William Opalicky , ,

, , 3,842 , , 1% , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 124,671 , , 61% , , , Don Volaric , , 71,372 , , 35% , , , Julia Williams , ,

, , 3,038 , , 1% , , , Leonard Schwartz , ,

, , 2,342 , , 1% , , , Les Townsend , , U.S. Taxpayers , , 2,285 , , 1% , * , + : Results 2012– ! Year ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gath ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 208,846 , , 62% , , , Don Volaric , , 114,760 , , 34% , , , Jim Fulner , ,

, align="right" , 6,100 , align="right" , 2% , , , Julia Williams , ,

, , 4,708 , , 1% , , , Les Townsend , , U.S. Taxpayers , , 2,902 , , 1% , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 136,342 , , 60% , , , George Brikho , , 81,470 , , 36% , , , Gregory Creswell , ,

, align="right" , 4,792 , align="right" , 2% , , , John McDermott , ,

, , 3,153 , , 1% , , , , , , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , , Sander Levin , , 199,661 , , 58% , , , Christopher Morse , , 128,937 , , 37% , , , Matthew Orlando , ,

, align="right" , 9,563 , align="right" , 3% , , , John McDermott , ,

, , 6,614 , , 2% , , , , , ,

References

External links

* * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Sander M. 1931 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Harvard Law School alumni Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Harvard Kennedy School staff Lawyers from Detroit

Sander A sander is a power tool used to smooth surfaces by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to hand-hold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodwo ...

Living people Democratic Party Michigan state senators Politicians from Detroit School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni University of Chicago alumni Central High School (Detroit) alumni 21st-century American Jews