neonvincent

Driskell is running again next year. I wonder if this endorsement will be good then, too.

Republican former Governor Milliken endorses Democrat Driskell for Congress

Former Governor William Milliken, a Republican, has a long history of crossing party lines to endorse Democrats. He continued that tradition on Wednesday by endorsing State Representative Gretchen Driskell of Saline, a Democrat, in her effort to unseat U.S. Representative Tim Walberg of Tipton, a Republican who represents a district that includes the rural and exurban western, northern, and southern portions of Washtenaw County.

“As Saline’s longest serving mayor and more recently as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, Gretchen Driskell has a record of working constructively to achieve positive results, not simply scoring political points. She recognizes that we are one state and one nation and that in the end we all go up or down together,” Milliken said in a statement on Driskell's campaign website.

"We need people in Washington who work to find common ground and common solutions to our problems. Based on her record of achievement, I believe Gretchen Driskell is that person. I urge the voters of the 7th Congressional District to elect Gretchen Driskell as their representative in Congress," Milliken concluded.

Driskell thanked Milliken for his endorsement. "I am very honored to have the endorsement of such a well-respected Michigan leader" she said in the same statement. "I have always admired Governor Milliken's commitment to working together to address our state's challenges and his long-standing service to our Michigan families."

Milliken was Michigan's longest serving Governor, holding office from 1969 to 1983 and amassing a record of moderate Republican governance. After leaving office, he endorsed Democrats as well as Republicans while his party moved right.

In 2004, he supported Democratic nominee and current U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over incumbent Republican President George W. Bush. Kerry may have lost the election, but he won Michigan. In 2006, he backed Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm in her successful 2006 re-election bid. Milliken returned to the Republican fold in 2008 by endorsing John McCain for President. McCain lost Michigan.

The former Governor split his ticket in 2014. He sided with Democrats Gary Peters for the U.S. Senate and Mark Totten for Attorney General while endorsing Republican Rick Snyder in his re-election campaign for Governor. Peters and Snyder won, while Totten lost to Republican Bill Schuette, who was re-elected.

Milliken is not the only Republican former elected official endorsing Driskell. Joe Schwarz, who represented Michigan's Seventh Congressional District before Walberg defeated him in the 2006 Republican Primary, has also endorsed her, as has Mark Schauer, the last Democrat to hold the seat.

Polls have been split on the contest. The first one from March of 2015 by Inside Michigan Politics, had Driskell in the lead by five percent. A more recent survey from September 2015 by Republican pollster Harper Polling showed Walberg leading by seventeen percent, as reported by MLive.

The money primary shows the two very close in fundraising. The Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday that Walberg has raised $1.2 million so far this election cycle, while Driskell's campaign has brought in $1.1 million.