Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

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Michigan's 7th Congressional District

General Election Date
November 8, 2016

Primary Date
August 2, 2016

November 8 Election Winner:
Tim Walberg Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Tim Walberg Republican Party
Tim Walberg.jpg

Race Ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean R[1]
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean R[2]
Rothenberg & Gonzales: R Favored[3]

Michigan U.S. House Elections
District 1District 2District 3District 4District 5District 6District 7District 8District 9District 10District 11District 12District 13District 14

2016 U.S. Senate Elections

Flag of Michigan.png

The 7th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 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.[4][5][6][7]

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
April 19, 2016
August 2, 2016
November 8, 2016

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Michigan utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[8]<[9]


Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Tim Walberg (R), who was first elected in 2006.

Michigan's 7th Congressional District is located in the southeastern region of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It includes Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, and Monroe counties and a portion of Washtenaw County.[10]

Election results

General election

U.S. House, Michigan District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim 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

Primary election

U.S. House, Michigan District 7 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTim Walberg Incumbent 75.2% 43,120
Doug North 24.8% 14,247
Total Votes 57,367
Source: Michigan Secretary of State

Candidates

General election candidates:

Republican Party Tim Walberg Approveda
Democratic Party Gretchen Driskell
Libertarian Party Ken Proctor

Primary candidates:[11]

Democratic

Gretchen Driskell - State rep.[12] Approveda

Republican

Tim Walberg - Incumbent[4] Approveda
Doug North[4]

Third Party/Other

Ken Proctor (Libertarian)[13] Approveda


Race background

Incumbent Tim Walberg was a member of the NRCC's Patriot Program. The program is designed to help raise money and assist vulnerable incumbents seeking re-election.[14]

Gretchen 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."[15]

Presidential preference

Tim Walberg

See also: Republicans and their declared positions on Donald Trump

On May 4, 2016, the day after Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, Walberg said in a statement that he “will vote for the nominee.”[16] Walberg did not mention Donald Trump in his statement.

Endorsements

Gretchen Driskell

  • EMILY's List - "Gretchen Driskell is a tireless champion for Michigan women and families ... She’s an experienced public servant and businesswoman, and she has what it takes to increase economic opportunity for all Michigan working families."[17]

Media

Tim Walberg

"Vocational" - Walberg's first ad, released August 2016
"Combating Heroin" - Walberg campaign ad, released September 2016

Gretchen Driskell

"Four Letter Word" - Driskell ad opposing trade deals, released September 2016
"Deal" - Driskell campaign ad opposing Walberg, released October 2016


District history

2014

See also: Michigan's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 7th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Tim Walberg (R) defeated Pam Byrnes (D), Rick Strawcutter (I), David Swartout and Ken Proctor (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Michigan District 7 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Walberg Incumbent 53.5% 119,564
     Democratic Pam Byrnes 41.2% 92,083
     Libertarian Ken Proctor 2% 4,531
     U.S. Tax Payers Party Rick Strawcutter 1.4% 3,138
     Independent David Swartout 2% 4,369
Total Votes 223,685
Source: Michigan Secretary of State

2012

See also: Michigan's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 7th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Tim Walberg (R) won the election in the district.[18]

U.S. House, Michigan District 7 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Kurt R. Haskell 43% 136,849
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Walberg Incumbent 53.3% 169,668
     Libertarian Ken Proctor 2.5% 8,088
     Green Richard Wunsch 1.1% 3,464
Total Votes 318,069
Source: Michigan Secretary of State, "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Important dates and deadlines

See also: Michigan elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Michigan in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
February 12, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-election report due
February 23, 2016 Election date Election
March 21, 2016 Ballot access Deadline for incumbent judges seeking re-election to file for the state primary
March 24, 2016 Campaign finance Post-election report due
April 19, 2016 Ballot access Deadline for partisan and nonpartisan candidates (other than incumbent judges) to file for the state primary
April 22, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-election report due
May 3, 2016 Election date Election
June 2, 2016 Campaign finance Post-election report due
July 21, 2016 Ballot access Deadline for unaffiliated candidates to file for the general election
July 22, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-election report due
August 2, 2016 Election date Primary election
September 1, 2016 Campaign finance Post-election report due
October 28, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-election report due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
December 8, 2016 Campaign finance Post-election report due
Sources: Michigan Secretary of State, "2015 and 2016 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," accessed July 1, 2015
Michigan Secretary of State, ,"2016 Michigan Election Dates," accessed January 16, 2016

See also

Footnotes

  1. Cook Political Report, "2016 House Race Ratings," accessed November 6, 2016
  2. Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 House," accessed November 6, 2016
  3. Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed November 6, 2016
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed April 20, 2016
  5. Politico, "Michigan House Primaries Results," August 2, 2016
  6. Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed September 6, 2016
  7. CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
  8. NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 7, 2024
  9. Michigan.gov,"Questions and Answers: Michigan’s Presidential Primary," accessed October 7, 2024
  10. United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  11. Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
  12. MLive.com, "Democratic state Rep. Gretchen Driskell announces bid for 7th Congressional seat in 2016," February 9, 2015
  13. Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed June 26, 2016
  14. Roll Call, "Exclusive: NRCC Adds 8 More Vulnerable Members to Patriot Program," May 1, 2015
  15. DCCC, "DCCC Chairman Luján Announces First 31 Districts In Red To Blue Program," February 11, 2016
  16. Detroit Free Press, "Michigan Republicans begin to line up behind Donald Trump," accessed May 9, 2016
  17. The Hill, "EMILY's List endorses challenger to Michigan Republican," March 3, 2016
  18. Politico, "2012 Election Map," accessed August 15, 2012


For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!


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