Mai Xiong

Mai Hlee Xiong (born December 19, 1984) is a Hmong American businesswoman and politician currently serving as a Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives. She previously served on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners. In April 2024, Xiong won a special election to fill the vacant District 13 in the Michigan House of Representatives. She is the first Hmong American to serve in the Michigan legislature.

Early life

Xiong was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in the Loei province of Thailand to a Hmong family. At the age of 3, Xiong's family moved to Ohio after being accepted into the United States as refugees. Due to having extended family in Metro Detroit, Xiong and her siblings spent a lot of time in the area while growing up.

Education

In 2003, Xiong was accepted into the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. During her studies, she moved to Warren, Michigan and interned at Campbell Ewald. Xiong graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design.

Xiong later graduated from the Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP) at Michigan State University. She is also a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard Kennedy School.

Career

In 2017, Xiong founded the brand Mai&Co, an apparel company inspired by traditional Hmong clothing. She is fluent in the Hmong language and helps as a language interpreter for a translation and interpretation organization.

Xiong serves as a volunteer Board Member of the Macomb Food Program, a nonprofit working to raise funds and feed the hungry in Macomb County, Michigan. She is also a coordinator for Adopt-A-County Road, a program where participants help maintain roads by cleaning up trash and litter.

In August 2020, Xiong challenged incumbent Macomb County Commissioner Marvin Sauger in the Democratic primary where she finished in first place with 37.3% of the vote. Xiong later won the general election in November with 54.5% of the vote.

During her first term, Xiong led the commission in appropriating $300,000 for the 2023 budget to go towards the county's food pantry distribution program. Xiong also worked to increase funding for Turning Point, a nonprofit intended to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition, she also worked to secure funding for Martha T. Berry, a county health facility that works with the elderly.

In 2022, Xiong was re-elected to a second term with 56.7% of the vote.

In 2023, Xiong challenged Warren City Clerk Sonja Buffa. Despite making it through the primary, Xiong lost the general election with 46.2% of the vote.

In 2023, Lori Stone, a Michigan State Representative, resigned after being elected mayor of Warren. Xiong announced her candidacy for the special election and won the Democratic primary in January 2024. She later won the general election with 65.6% of the vote.

In November 2024, following court-mandated redistricting, Xiong sought re-election in the new 13th district and won the general election for a full term with 50.8% of the vote.

In March 2025, Xiong broke party lines to vote in favor of a resolution calling for the federal ban on transgender girls in women's sports under the Trump administration to be enforced in the state of Michigan.

Personal life

Xiong and her husband, Adam, met in 2008 before getting married in 2011. Both are Hmong American and they have four children together.

Xiong was a victim of a cyber stalker and her story was featured in ID Discovery Stalked Someone Watching

Xiong is a member of the Sierra Club and a Green Michigan.

Electoral history

References

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Living people
County commissioners in Michigan
People from Warren, Michigan
21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature
21st-century American women politicians
1984 births
College for Creative Studies alumni