Gretchen Driskell
{{short description|American politician and businesswoman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Gretchen Driskell
|image = Gretchen Driskell 2015.jpg
|state_house = Michigan
|district = 52nd
|term_start = January 1, 2013
|term_end = December 31, 2016
|predecessor = Mark Ouimet
|successor = Donna Lasinski
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|10|1}}
|birth_place = Port Washington, New York, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|spouse =
|children = 3
|education = University of Lynchburg (BSc)
George Washington University (MBA)
|website = {{url|https://votegretchen.com/|Official website}}
}}
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.{{Cite news |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=February 9, 2015 |title=Former Saline mayor to run for Congress |work=Detroit Free Press |url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/02/09/driskell-announces-run/23132711/ |access-date=March 21, 2016}}
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%) to his 23,609 (46.8%).{{Cite news |date=November 8, 2012 |title=Canvas Report D52 State Representative |publisher=ewashtenaw.org |url=http://electionresults.ewashtenaw.org/nov2012/canvassreport463.html |url-status=dead |access-date=November 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414161019/http://electionresults.ewashtenaw.org/nov2012/canvassreport463.html |archive-date=April 14, 2013 |df=mdy-all}} In 2014, Driskell defeated Republican nominee John Hochstetler, receiving 20,849 votes (56.2%) to his 16,265 (43.8%).{{Cite web |title=John Hochstetler |url=http://ballotpedia.org/John_Hochstetler |access-date=March 24, 2015 |website=Ballotpedia}}
U.S. House of Representatives elections
=2016=
{{Main|2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan}}
In February 2015 Driskell announced that she would challenge Republican incumbent Tim Walberg for Michigan's 7th congressional district.{{Cite news |last=Forgrave |first=Will |date=February 9, 2015 |title=Democratic state Rep. Gretchen Driskell announces bid for 7th Congressional seat in 2016 |work=MLive.com |publisher=Booth Newspapers |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2015/02/democratic_state_rep_gretchen.html |access-date=March 24, 2015}} In a March 2015 Inside Michigan Politics/Revsix/Change Media poll, Driskell led Walberg 42%-37% with 21% undecided.{{Cite news |last=Longmoore |first=Tran |date=March 23, 2015 |title=Driskell Leads Walberg in Early Poll |work=The Saline Post |publisher=Tran Longmoore |url=http://thesalinepost.com/article/section/elections/blog/driskell-leads-walberg-early-poll/1427145889 |access-date=March 24, 2015}} In a September 2015 Harper Polling poll, Walberg led Driskell 49%-32% with 20% undecided.{{Cite web |title=Recent poll shows U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg leads challenger Gretchen Driskell |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2015/09/recent_poll_indicates_voters_l.html |access-date=January 22, 2016 |website=MLive.com|date=September 22, 2015 }} Driskell was endorsed by former Republican governor William Milliken,{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2016 |title=Former Gov. William Milliken endorses Gretchen Driskell for Congress |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/05/former_gov_william_milliken_en.html |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=MLive.com}} who also endorsed Hillary Clinton.{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2016 |title=Ex-Mich. GOP Gov. Milliken endorses Clinton over Trump |url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/08/milliken-clinton-trump/88386972/ |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=Detroitnews.com}}
In the general election, Driskell lost to Walberg, who received 55% of the vote to Driskell's 40%.{{Cite news |last1=Oosting |first1=Jonathan |last2=Laing |first2=Keith |date=November 9, 2016 |title=District 7: Rep. Walberg wins re-election over Driskell |publisher=The Detroit News |url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/08/michigan-congress-district-driskell-walberg-results/93497766/ |access-date=November 15, 2016}}
=2018=
{{Main|2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan}}
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.{{Cite news |last=The |first=Monroe News |title=Dexter Democrat launches bid to unseat Walberg |language=en |work=Monroe News |url=http://www.monroenews.com/article/20171227/NEWS/312279996 |access-date=December 28, 2017}} Driskell won the nomination easily.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/07/us/elections/results-michigan-primary-elections.html|title=Michigan Primary Election Results|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 7, 2018|last1=Almukhtar|first1=Sarah|last2=Bloch|first2=Matthew|last3=Lee|first3=Jasmine C.}} She lost to Walberg again, 54% to 46%.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://votegretchen.com/ Gretchen Driskell for Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904043422/http://votegretchen.com/ |date=September 4, 2015 }} campaign website
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141007211455/http://052.housedems.com/biography Official House Democrats website] (archived)
- {{Ballotpedia}}
{{CongLinks|fec=H0MI07150|votesmart=139948}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-mi-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=Mark Ouimet}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 52nd district|years= 2013–2016}}
{{s-aft|after=Donna Lasinski}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Driskell, Gretchen}}
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:American women accountants
Category:American real estate brokers
Category:Businesspeople from Michigan
Category:George Washington University alumni
Category:University of Lynchburg alumni
Category:Mayors of places in Michigan
Category:Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Category:People from Saline, Michigan
Category:Women mayors of places in Michigan
Category:Women state legislators in Michigan
Category:Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections
Category:Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections