Former Michigan U.S. Sen. Donald Riegle, a Republican who turned Democrat during the Vietnam War and Watergate controversies and served under seven U.S. presidents, has died, his family said in a statement Sunday.
Riegle, a Flint native, died at home on Friday, April 24, 2026, of cardiac arrest in San Diego, California, with his wife of 48 years, Lori Hansen Riegle, by his side, the statement said. He was 88.
Riegle served nearly three decades in Congress, representing the Flint area and Michigan.
“The cornerstone of our family, Don was a kind, loving, courageous leader who taught us to stand up for justice, economic opportunity, and fairness for everyone,” the family said. “He tirelessly fought for the rights of the working men and women of Michigan and led the Senate opposition to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the trade agreement that resulted in the loss of many jobs in Michigan.
“We miss him profoundly and are forever grateful for his decency and commitment to seeing the good in others. He dedicated much of his life to public service, always seeking to make life better for those in need. Don was not inclined to dwell on his achievements during the 28 years he served the people of Michigan, instead preferring to work to accomplish more for those he represented.”
Riegle was elected to the U.S. House in 1966 as a Republican at age 28, making waves by challenging President Richard Nixon’s policies on the Vietnam War and changing parties in 1973 during the Watergate scandal that resulted in Nixon’s resignation a year later.
He was first elected a U.S. senator in 1976, was reelected twice and served 18 years, including six years as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, before the reverberations of a savings and loan controversy prompted his departure in 1994. Republican Spencer Abraham won his seat over Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Carr.
He was embroiled in controversy when he and four other senators, called the Keating Five, faced allegations that they pressured federal officials to back off savings and loan executive Charles Keating after getting campaign donations. He and the other senators faced Ethics Committee hearings in 1990, with the panel finding he didn’t break any laws or chamber rules. But the committee decided his actions gave the appearance of impropriety.
Riegle was noted for his support of equal rights for women and helped secure the 1973 Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prevented discrimination on the basis of sex or marital status in credit applications.
Former U.S. Rep. James Blanchard, who sponsored the original Chrysler Corp. loan guarantee legislation, credited Riegle with helping him move the bill through the upper chamber. Riegle succeeded in averting a filibuster on the Senate floor to win passage of the bill, according to his family’s statement.
“He was really the best retail politician in Michigan in the 1970s and 1980s,” said Blanchard, a former two-time governor of Michigan from 1983-1990 who credited Riegle with helping him get elected to Congress in 1974. “He was a real political expert, but also really interested in issues.”
“He was just a real dedicated guy,” the former governor said, adding that “He did a really good job representing Michigan in the Senate.”
Who was Don Riegle?
Riegle was born in Flint on Feb. 4, 1938. He attended Flint Junior College and Western University; he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1960, received a degree from Michigan State University in 1961 and pursued graduate studies at Harvard Business School.
Riegle remained active in presidential politics after he retired, supporting Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 primary and subsequent elections. In 2016, Riegle endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who went on to defeat Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan, though Clinton won the nomination.
Riegle also flew back into Michigan in 2020 to endorse Sanders again over his former colleague, Joe Biden of Delaware.
“He surprised everyone” with the Sanders’ endorsements, Blanchard told The Detroit News. “That was unusual.”
After he left Congress, Riegle joined Weber Shandwick Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., to boost its government affairs practice before heading to APCO Worldwide in 2001 to help clients from government to businesses to nonprofits.
Riegle briefly flirted with the idea of running for governor of Michigan in 2002, but ultimately decided he enjoyed his life in California, said Blanchard, who ended up running unsuccessfully for the nomination against ex-U.S. Rep. David Bonior of Macomb County and Jennifer Granholm, who won the nomination.
Ex-Rep. Kildee said Riegle ‘willing to do the hard things’
“He loved his hometown of Flint,” said former U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, who added that he has known Riegle since he was a kid. “He was very helpful to me throughout my career, but especially in my time in Congress. When I was in Congress, we would talk regularly, and his advice was very thoughtful and always helpful to me.”
After Kildee said he decided not to seek reelection, Riegle called him to say he understood why Kildee made the decision to come home, the former congressman said.
“On that day, I realized he’d become more than a mentor. He was my friend. He was a courageous leader and was willing to do the hard things real leaders do. The lessons of his service are more relevant now than ever,” Kildee said in a statement.
“He was committed to the state, to the nation and all people,” said Inez Brown, a former Riegle staffer from 1972-93 who later became the Flint city clerk.
Memorial arrangements are expected to be announced later, the family said.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
rburr@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Longtime former Michigan U.S. Sen. Donald Riegle dies at age 88
Reporting by Chad Livengood and Richard Burr, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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