Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives 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 from Michigan, is a former ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee; he was Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee from 2010 to 2011. He was the older brother of former U.S. Senator Carl Levin, and is the father of former Congressman Andy Levin, his successor.
In December 2017, Levin announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in 2018. His son Andy was elected on November 6, 2018, and took office in the 116th Congress, which commenced on January 3, 2019.
He made unsuccessful campaigns for Governor of Michigan in 1970 and 1974, both times losing to Republican William Milliken. He was a Fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School in 1975. From 1977 through 1981 he was assistant administrator of the Agency for International Development.
After redistricting, Levin's district was merged with the 9th District of fellow Democrat Gary Peters. 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.
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 and the Congressional Arts Caucus.
In a private ceremony in July 2012, Levin married Pamela Cole, age 61, a Pennsylvania State University 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 Carl Levin was the state's senior Senator until his retirement in January 2015. His uncle, Theodore Levin, was a federal judge. His first cousin Charles was a Michigan Supreme Court justice, after serving as a Michigan Court of Appeals judge. Another first cousin, Joseph Levin, was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. His son Andy Levin was an unsuccessful candidate for the Michigan Senate in 2006, but in 2018 was elected to succeed him in the United States House of Representatives.
|+ : Results 1992–2010 ! Year ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third party ! Party ! Votes ! % |- |1992 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |137,514 | |53% | | |John Pappageorge | |119,357 | |46% | | |Charles Hahn | |Libertarian | align="right" |2,751 | align="right" |1% | |! style="background:#00bfff; "|R. W. Montgomery |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Natural Law |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1,724 |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1% | | | | | | |- |1994 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |103,508 | |52% | | |John Pappageorge | |92,762 | |47% | | |Jerome White | |No party affiliation | |1,386 | |1% | |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Eric Anderson |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Natural Law |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1,340 |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1% | | | | | | |- |1996 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |133,436 | |57% | | |John Pappageorge | |94,235 | |41% | | |Albert Titran | |Libertarian | |3,101 | |1% | |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Gail Petrosoff |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Natural Law |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1,690 |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1% | | | | | | |- |1998 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |105,824 | |56% | | |Leslie Touma | |79,619 | |42% | | |Albert Titran | |Libertarian | |2,813 | |1% | |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Fred Rosenberg |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Natural Law |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1,172 |! style="background:#00bfff; "|1% | | | | | | |- |2000 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |157,720 | |64% | | |Bart Baron | |78,795 | |32% | | |Thomas Ness | |Green | |4,137 | |2% | | |Andrew LeCureaux | |Libertarian | |3,630 | |1% | |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Fred Rosenberg |! style="background:#00bfff; "|Natural Law |! style="background:#00bfff; "|887 |! style="background:#00bfff; "|0% | |- |2002 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |140,970 | |68% | | |Harvey Dean | |61,502 | |30% | | |Dick Gach | |Libertarian | align="right" |2,694 | align="right" |1% | | |Steven Revis | |U.S. Taxpayers | |1,362 | |1% | | | | | | |- |2004 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |210,827 | |69% | | |Randell Shafer | |88,256 | |29% | | |Dick Gach | |Libertarian | |5,051 | |2% | | | | | | | | | | | |- |2006 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |168,494 | |71% | | |Randell Shafer | |62,689 | |26% | | |Andrew LeCureaux | |Libertarian | |3,259 | |1% | | |Jerome White | |No party affiliation | |1,862 | |1% | | |Art Myatt | |Green | |1,735 | |1% | |- |2008 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |225,094 | |72% | | |Bert Copple | |74,565 | |24% | | |John Vico | |Libertarian | |4,767 | |2% | | |Les Townsend | |U.S. Taxpayers | |4,076 | |1% | | |William Opalicky | |Green | |3,842 | |1% |- |2010 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |124,671 | |61% | | |Don Volaric | |71,372 | |35% | | |Julia Williams | |Green | |3,038 | |1% | | |Leonard Schwartz | |Libertarian | |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 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |208,846 | |62% | | |Don Volaric | |114,760 | |34% | | |Jim Fulner | |Libertarian | align="right" |6,100 | align="right" |2% | | |Julia Williams | |Green | |4,708 | |1% | | |Les Townsend | |U.S. Taxpayers | |2,902 | |1% | |- |2014 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |136,342 | |60% | | |George Brikho | |81,470 | |36% | | |Gregory Creswell | |Libertarian | align="right" |4,792 | align="right" |2% | | |John McDermott | |Green | |3,153 | |1% | | | | | | |- |2016 || | | Sander Levin (incumbent) | |199,661 | |58% | | |Christopher Morse | |128,937 | |37% | | |Matthew Orlando | |Libertarian | align="right" |9,563 | align="right" |3% | | |John McDermott | |Green | |6,614 | |2% | | | | | |
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