Republican Rep. Tim Walberg will overcome being a Democratic target in Michigan’s 7th District, The Associated Press projects.

Walberg led his opponent, Michigan state Rep. Gretchen Driskell, 57 percent to 38 percent with 59 percent of precincts voting.

Coming into Election Day, the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rated the race Republican Favored, a rating that changed from Tilts Republican in October.

In 2014, Walberg won the seat with 53.5 percent of the vote, but Democrats had high hopes to defeat the congressman in a district Mitt Romney carried by just 3 points in 2012. 

[Election Results 2016]

Michigan’s 7th District sits in the southeast corner of the state. It skirts around western Ann Arbor and snags a tiny slice of Lansing in the central part of Michigan.

Walberg, a former pastor, serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee as well as the Oversight and Government Reform panel. He is also a member of the Republican Study Committee.

Driskell served two terms in Michigan’s House of Representatives. Before that, she was mayor of Saline, Michigan for 14 years.

Democratic congressional candidates hauled in more money than Republicans in Michigan’s congressional races during the third quarter fundraising period.

However, the fundraising efforts did not come close to the stockpiles of cash the GOP incumbents have on hand, Craig Mauger of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network told The Detroit News in October.

Driskell raised $564,529 to Walberg’s $512,404 but could not overcome the $1.1 million cash on hand Walberg had in his campaign war chest compared to her $462,633.

Contact Rahman at remarahman@cqrollcall.com or follow her on Twitter at @remawriter.