Gretchen Driskell

Summary

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. Before her time in the Michigan legislature, she was the first female mayor of Saline, Michigan, a position she held for 14 years.[1]

Gretchen Driskell
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 52nd district
In office
January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2016
Preceded byMark Ouimet
Succeeded byDonna Lasinski
Personal details
Born (1958-10-01) October 1, 1958 (age 65)
Port Washington, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children3
EducationUniversity of Lynchburg (BSc)
George Washington University (MBA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Michigan House of Representatives edit

Elections edit

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%) to his 23,609 (46.8%).[2] In 2014, Driskell defeated Republican nominee John Hochstetler, receiving 20,849 votes (56.2%) to his 16,265 (43.8%).[3]

U.S. House of Representatives elections edit

2016 edit

In February 2015 Driskell announced that she would challenge Republican incumbent Tim Walberg for Michigan's 7th congressional district.[4] In a March 2015 Inside Michigan Politics/Revsix/Change Media poll, Driskell led Walberg 42%-37% with 21% undecided.[5] In a September 2015 Harper Polling poll, Walberg led Driskell 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 lost to Walberg, who received 55% of the vote to Driskell's 40%.[9]

2018 edit

In December 2017, Driskell announced she would run against Walberg again. 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 lost to Walberg again, 54% to 46%.

References edit

  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. September 22, 2015. 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. ^ Almukhtar, Sarah; Bloch, Matthew; Lee, Jasmine C. (August 7, 2018). "Michigan Primary Election Results". The New York Times.

External links edit

  • Gretchen Driskell for Congress campaign website
  • Official House Democrats website (archived)
  • Gretchen Driskell at Ballotpedia
Michigan House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 52nd district

2013–2016
Succeeded by