Michigan’s 7th District Congressman Tim Walberg is in deep trouble if recent events are any indication. It started with his sole Democratic opponent Gretchen Driskell raising more money than him during the last quarter. According to FEC filings, Driskell raised $173,732 compared with only $165,929 for Walberg.
Those numbers don’t tell the entire story, however. Driskell didn’t even get into the race until the second week of February so Walberg had nearly twice the time in which to raise that money. Those fundraising amounts include the $47,000 Walberg raised from 21 different committees compared to Driskell who only raised $4,549 from 12 different committees. In other words, Driskell is proving to have much deeper support than Walberg who, as he has in the past, has to rely on PACs and other groups for his money.
Then, in March, an Inside Michigan Politics poll had Driskell with a 5-point advantage.
In April, The Cook Political Report moved the MI-07 race from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican”, the same designation given by the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call Race Ratings. The next stop: “Toss Up”.
Then, to drive the nail in a bit further, Walberg was recently put on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Patriot Program” which attempts to bolster the campaigns of vulnerable candidates.
Walberg is clearly on the run. Though his warchest is still fairly large compared with Driskell’s, he’s been at this for a lot longer than she has. Her broad base of support – her campaign reports they have a donor base of over 1,100 individuals – will only grow as the voters in the 7th Congressional District get to know her.
If you’d like to learn more about Gretchen Driskell, visit her website HERE and her Facebook page HERE. To make a donation to her campaign, click HERE.
