Gretchen Driskell

Gretchen Demarest Driskell (born October 1, 1958) is an American politician, accountant, and real estate agent from the state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing the 52nd district. Prior to her time in the Michigan Legislature, she was the first female mayor of Saline, Michigan, a position which she held for fourteen years.[1]

Gretchen Driskell
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 52nd district
In office January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2016
Preceded by	Mark Ouimet
Succeeded by	Donna Lasinski
Personal details
Born	October 1, 1958 Port Washington, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	3
Education	University of Lynchburg (BSc) George Washington University (MBA)
Website	Official website

Michigan House of Representatives

Elections

Driskell challenged Republican incumbent Mark Ouimet for the 52nd House district (northern and western suburban Washtenaw County areas outside Ann Arbor) in 2012. She defeated Ouimet receiving 26,646 votes (52.9%), while Ouimet received 23,609 votes (46.8%).[2] Driskell defeated Republican John Hochstetler for re-election receiving 20,849 (56.2%) to Hochstetler's 16,265 (43.8%) in 2014.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives elections

2016

In February 2015 Driskell announced that she would be challenging Republican incumbent Tim Walberg for Michigan's 7th congressional district in 2016.[4] In a poll conducted by Inside Michigan Politics/Revsix/Change Media in March 2015, Driskell led Walberg 42%-37% with 21% undecided.[5] In a poll conducted by Harper Polling in September 2015, Walberg led Driskell by 49%-32% with 20% undecided.[6] Driskell was endorsed by former Republican governor William Milliken,[7] who also endorsed Hillary Clinton.[8]

In the general election, Driskell was defeated by incumbent Republican Representative Tim Walberg, who received 55% of the vote to Driskell's 40%.[9]

2018

In December 2017, Driskell announced her intent to run against Walberg again in the 2018 election. She faced a challenge in the Democratic primary from Steve Friday, a progressive grassroots activist from Dexter.[10] Driskell won the nomination easily.[11] She would lose again this time by 54% to 46%.

References

1. Spangler, Todd (February 9, 2015). "Former Saline mayor to run for Congress". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
2. "Canvas Report D52 State Representative". ewashtenaw.org. November 8, 2012. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
3. "John Hochstetler". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
4. Forgrave, Will (February 9, 2015). "Democratic state Rep. Gretchen Driskell announces bid for 7th Congressional seat in 2016". MLive.com. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
5. Longmoore, Tran (March 23, 2015). "Driskell Leads Walberg in Early Poll". The Saline Post. Tran Longmoore. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
6. "Recent poll shows U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg leads challenger Gretchen Driskell". MLive.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
7. "Former Gov. William Milliken endorses Gretchen Driskell for Congress". MLive.com. May 11, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
8. "Ex-Mich. GOP Gov. Milliken endorses Clinton over Trump". Detroitnews.com. August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
9. Oosting, Jonathan; Laing, Keith (November 9, 2016). "District 7: Rep. Walberg wins re-election over Driskell". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
10. The, Monroe News. "Dexter Democrat launches bid to unseat Walberg". Monroe News. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
11. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/07/us/elections/results-michigan-primary-elections.html

External links

• Gretchen Driskell for Congress campaign website
• Official House Democrats website (archived)
• Gretchen Driskell at Ballotpedia

• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission