Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell to Challenge Rep. Mark Ouimet for 52nd District Seat in November

Two candidates vying to represent the 52nd Michigan House District for the next two years were unopposed in their Aug. 7 primary races.

State Rep. Mark Ouimet of Scio Township will face Democratic challenger Gretchen Driskell of Saline in November.

"We've been working very hard doing a lot of door-to-door and direct campaigning in the district," Ouimet said Tuesday night. "A lot of constiuents are overwhelmingly pleased with the direction of leadership in Lansing. They see the turnaround from 14 percent unemployment two years ago to 8 1/2 percent, a better bond rating, and increased funding to pay down longterm debt. There's a lot of positive things happening for Michigan right now."

With 116 of the 168 precincts reporting in at 11:30 p.m., Ouimet secured 7,410 votes to 62 write-in votes. Driskell received 3,338 votes to 4 write-in votes.

Driskell, who has been mayor of Saline since 1999, has been critical of the Republicans' cuts to revenue sharing payments to municipalities since announcing her campaign in March.

"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," she said. "I believe a more educated population will give us a greater competitive edge globally than the giant corporate tax cut that was implemented last year."

Driskell said the state needs a more balanced approach as it considers the interests of business and communities.

"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," she said.

In Ouimet, Driskell faces tough competition. Since 2010, the 52nd District was redrawn. It's considerably more friendly to Republicans than it was, as heavily Democratic areas in Ann Arbor have been replaced by more Republican-leaning areas. Ouimet, whose official campaign announcement included , has raised $230,000 in donations compared to Driskell's $64,000.