Gretchen Driskell
Gretchen Driskell (Democratic Party) was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 52.
Driskell (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 7th Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Driskell was a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Driskell lost the general election on November 6, 2018, after advancing from the primary on August 7, 2018.[1]
Driskell is a former Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 52 from 2012 to 2017.
Driskell did not seek re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2016. She sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 7th Congressional District of Michigan in 2016.[2]
Driskell served a record seven terms as the mayor of Saline; she was the first woman to serve in the position.
Biography
Driskell earned her B.S. in accounting from Lynchburg College and her MBA in finance from the George Washington University. Her professional experience includes working as a realtor.[3][4]
Elections
2020
See also: Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2020
Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)
Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)
General election for U.S. House Michigan District 7
Incumbent Tim Walberg defeated Gretchen Driskell in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Tim Walberg (R) 
|
58.8
|
227,524 |
|
|
Gretchen Driskell (D) |
41.2
|
159,743 | |
|
Total votes: 387,267 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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||||
Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7
Gretchen Driskell advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Gretchen Driskell |
100.0
|
63,470 |
|
Total votes: 63,470 | |||
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||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- C.B. Smith (D)
- Ryan William Hall (D)
- Samuel Larson (D)
- Samuel Branscum (D)
Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7
Incumbent Tim Walberg advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Tim Walberg
|
100.0
|
84,397 |
|
Total votes: 84,397 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bruce Gidner (R)
2018
General election
Incumbent Tim Walberg defeated Gretchen Driskell in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on November 6, 2018.
General election for U.S. House Michigan District 7
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Tim Walberg (R) |
53.8
|
158,730 |
|
|
Gretchen Driskell (D) |
46.2
|
136,330 | |
|
Total votes: 295,060 | |||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Democratic primary election
Gretchen Driskell defeated Steven Friday in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on August 7, 2018.
Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Gretchen Driskell |
85.2
|
52,430 |
|
|
Steven Friday |
14.8
|
9,083 | |
|
Total votes: 61,513 | |||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Republican primary election
Incumbent Tim Walberg advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Tim Walberg |
100.0
|
69,248 |
|
Total votes: 69,248 | |||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Endorsements
Driskell was endorsed by the Michigan AFL-CIO.[5]
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as a race to watch. Incumbent Tim Walberg (R) defeated Gretchen Driskell (D) and Ken Proctor (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Walberg defeated Doug North in the Republican primary on August 2, 2016.[6][7][8][9]
| U.S. House, Michigan District 7 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Tim Walberg Incumbent |
55.1% | 184,321 | |
| Democratic | Gretchen Driskell | 40% | 134,010 | |
| Libertarian | Ken Proctor | 4.9% | 16,476 | |
| Total Votes | 334,807 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
| U.S. House, Michigan District 7 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Tim Walberg Incumbent |
75.2% | 43,120 | ||
| Doug North | 24.8% | 14,247 | ||
| Total Votes | 57,367 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State |
||||
Driskell was one of the initial members of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red to Blue Program. The program "highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support."[10]
2014
Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 22, 2014. Incumbent Gretchen Driskell was unopposed in the Democratic primary. John Hochstetler was unopposed in the Republican primary. Driskell defeated Hochstetler in the general election.[11][12][13][14]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 52 General Election, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Gretchen Driskell Incumbent |
56.2% | 20,849 | |
| Republican | John Hochstetler | 43.8% | 16,265 | |
| Total Votes | 37,114 | |||
2012
Driskell won election in the 2012 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 52. She ran unopposed in the August 7 Democratic primary and defeated incumbent Mark Ouimet (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[15]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 52, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Gretchen Driskell |
53% | 26,647 | |
| Republican | Mark Ouimet Incumbent | 47% | 23,610 | |
| Total Votes | 50,257 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Gretchen Driskell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Driskell highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:[16]
Jobs and small business
- "Investing in efficient, commerce-friendly infrastructure;
- Training and educating a talented workforce;
- Creating and protecting equality of opportunity; and
- Building quality schools, parks, and housing."[16]
Prioritizing public education
- "The last five years have demonstrated that our communities know our children better than Lansing bureaucrats and corporate CEOs, and that budget cuts and one-size-fits all turnaround strategies will not improve Michigan’s public schools."[16]
- "Gretchen believes we need to invest in our teachers, schools, and students. Ensuring that our children receive a rigorous, real-world education is a challenge we must meet for the benefit of our families, our towns, our state, and our nation, and one that demands serious leadership, community engagement, and a sincere commitment to accountability."[16]
Environment
- "Gretchen has worked and will continue to work to protect and preserve the health of Michigan’s water, air, and countrysides. As a state representative [sic] Gretchen has proven to be a champion for clean water, clean air, and renewable energy. She has voted for and introduced legislation that would strengthen Michigan’s laws to protect the Great Lakes, safeguard public health and put our state on the road to having a clean energy economy. Protecting our natural resources is critical to not only sustaining our Pure Michigan tourism economy and our water-dependent industries, but to ensure our children have the opportunity to enjoy Michigan’s natural resources and beauty for generations to come."[16]
2012
Driskell noted of Saline: "The tools we use to attract talent are a shared investment in an excellent school system, good infrastructure, collaborative government, and continually building a strong sense of place."[17]
Driskell's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3] "I am running for State Representative because I believe the people in our communities have not been adequately represented. Lansing has cut education funding, community development programs, and put business before people. I believe a more educated population will give us a greater competitive edge in the global market, and the tax shift we've seen that favors corporations and forces cuts to education budgets is not helping. There needs to be a better balance when creating a competitive business climate, which can be implemented without devaluing local assets like education, environment and quality of life. If we are to be globally competitive in this 21st century economy we need to be investing in the people and places that create successful communities."
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Driskell served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Communications and Technology |
| • Elections, Minority Vice Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Driskell served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Commerce |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills sponsored by this legislator. Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills sponsored by this person, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Campaign donors
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
| Gretchen Driskell campaign contribution history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2014 | Michigan House of Representatives, District 52 |  |
$163,475 | |
| 2012 | Michigan State House, District 52 | |
$661,609 | |
| Grand total raised | $825,084 | |||
| Source: [[18] Follow the Money] | ||||
2016
Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.
2014
Driskell won re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014. During that election cycle, Driskell raised a total of $163,475.
| Michigan House of Representatives 2014 election - Campaign Contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top contributors to Gretchen Driskell's campaign in 2014 | ||||
| Electrical Workers Local 352 | $6,800 | |||
| Timothy A Greimel Campaign Cmte | $5,000 | |||
| Mi List | $5,000 | |||
| Michigan Association For Justice | $3,650 | |||
| Michigan Women Win | $3,500 | |||
| Total Raised in 2014 | $163,475 | |||
| Source: Follow the Money | ||||
2012
Driskell won election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, Driskell raised a total of $661,609.
| Michigan House of Representatives 2012 election - campaign contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top contributors to Gretchen Driskell's campaign in 2012 | ||||
| Michigan House Democratic Fund | $460,983 | |||
| Operating Engineers Local 324 | $5,000 | |||
| James Townsend Leadership Fund | $5,000 | |||
| Michigan Trial Lawyers Association | $5,000 | |||
| International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers | $5,000 | |||
| Total raised in 2012 | $661,609 | |||
| Source: Follow the Money | ||||
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 13 through December 31.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Michigan Chamber of Commerce: House
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on a number of bills selected by the editor of MIRS, a state capitol newsletter.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 14 through December 17.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 8 through December 31.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 9 to December 31.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Driskell has three children.[4]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
- Campaign Twitter page
- Profile from Open States
- Profile from Vote-USA
Footnotes
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Driskell seeks rematch with Rep. Walberg," July 19, 2017
- ↑ MLive.com, "Democratic state Rep. Gretchen Driskell announces bid for 7th Congressional seat in 2016," February 9, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gretchen Driskell for State Representative, Campaign Facebook page, accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Friends of Gretchen Driskell, "About Me," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Michigan AFL-CIO, "Michigan AFL-CIO Endorses Candidates for 2018 Election," accessed June 29, 2018
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed April 20, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Michigan House Primaries Results," August 2, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ DCCC, "DCCC Chairman Luján Announces First 31 Districts In Red To Blue Program," February 11, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Representative in State Legislature," accessed August 6, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Representative in State Legislature," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing," accessed May 27, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan General Candidate Listing," accessed September 8, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "2012 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing," accessed June 6, 2012
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Gretchen Driskell for Congress, "Issues," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Friends of Gretchen Driskell, "Why I'm Running...," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Driskell, Gretchen," accessed June 10, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Ouimet (R) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 52 2013–2017 |
Succeeded by Donna Lasinski (D) |
