Winnie Brinks

Winnie Brinks (born February 17, 1968)^[3] is an American politician who has served as a member of the Michigan Senate since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Brinks assumed office as Majority Leader of the Senate on January 1, 2023; she is the first woman to ever hold the office, and the first Democrat to do so since William Faust left office in 1984. Brinks previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018, worked as an executive at a non-profit before seeking office.^[4] In the House, she served on the Workforce and Talent Development, Education, Health Policy, and Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committees.^[3] She also serves as chair of the Progressive Women's Caucus, a non-profit organization that addresses concerns about women's health, pay equity, economic security and gender violence.^[5]

Winnie Brinks
Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2023
Preceded by	Mike Shirkey
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 29th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2019
Preceded by	Dave Hildenbrand
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 76th district
In office January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2018
Preceded by	Roy Schmidt
Succeeded by	Rachel Hood
Personal details
Born	Winnie De Vries[1] (1968-02-17) February 17, 1968 (age 57) Mount Vernon, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Steve Brinks ​ (m. 1992)​ [2]
Children	3
Education	Calvin College (BA)
Website	Official website

Education and early career

Brinks earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Calvin College.^[3] For several years she was Executive Director of One Way House Inc., a residential facility for non-violent female offenders.^[6] She also was a caseworker at The Source, an employee support organization.^[6][7]

Political career

Brinks was recruited to run for office after Roy Schmidt, who had previously been elected to the Michigan House as a Democrat, switched to the Republican Party at the deadline to file for re-election, leaving no legitimate Democratic candidate on the primary ballot. Brinks ran in the primary as a write-in candidate, exceeding the 1,000 votes required to win the Democratic nomination. She then defeated Schmidt in the November general election.^[8][9] In 2014, she was re-elected, defeating Republican challenger Donijo DeJonge,^[10] and in 2016 she defeated Republican challenger Casey J. O'Neill.^[11]

Due to term limits, Brinks was unable to run for re-election in 2018, and instead ran successfully for the 29th district of the Michigan Senate. Brinks defeated fellow state representative Chris Afendoulis, a Republican, and Libertarian and Working Class Party candidates. She succeeded Dave Hildenbrand, also a Republican, who was required by term limits to vacate the seat.^[12]

After the 2022 Michigan Senate election, where the Democratic Party won control of the State Senate, Brinks was chosen as the majority leader of the Michigan Senate Democrats.^[13] Brinks is the first female majority leader of the State Senate.

Position	Election Year	Votes	Opponent's votes	Opponent
State Representative	2012	23,530	12,337	Roy Schmidt [9]
State Representative	2014	15,804	13,822	Donijo DeJonge[10]
State Representative	2016	27,046	18,473	Casey J. O'Neill[11]
State Senator	2018	70,715	50,225	Chris Afendoulis[12]
State Senator	2022	59,407	39,115	Tommy Brann[14]

Political positions

As Senate majority leader, Brinks voted for the repeal of Michigan's right-to-work law, stating: "We've talked a lot about bringing good job creators here to our state. But we haven't talked nearly enough about how we’re going to attract and keep workers and their families."^[15] In 2023, Brinks voted with to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.^[16] In 2025, when the Michigan House passed a resolution calling for Michigan High School Athletic Association to ban transgender girls from girls' sports, Brinks stated of the Democratic-controlled Senate: "We will not be attacking kids. We will not be taking this up."^[17]