By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
Oxford Village resident Joshua Schriver announced he is running as a Republican for the Michigan House District 46 seat.
Officially forming his committee on Feb. 4 and holding a kick off event Aug. 29 at Rochester Christian Church, Schriver is one of three Republicans registered for the HD-46 race in 2022. Republican John Reilly is the outgoing incumbent.
According to a press release from his campaign, Schriver says he “will protect your God-given liberties so you can do what you know to be best for yourself and your home, family, business, church, school and neighborhood.”

“I am a huge supporter of our U.S. Constitution, our state constitution and allowing those to be the rudder with which we navigate the ever-changing world,” Schriver said. “When it comes to our God-given, inalienable (and) usable rights, that is something that I think we need defense of, especially if there are individuals or groups who are attempting to co-opt and make decisions for us that we are capable of making ourselves, and that can affect a multitude of areas.”
One of Schriver’s key issues is transparency. He is a fan of the way Reilly provides explanations for each of his votes and plans on continuing this if elected.
Another issue Schriver is interested in is election security and said he has worked with the Election Integrity Fund and Force (EIFF). Despite claiming to be nonpartisan, the EIFF promotes Republican talking points undermining the results of the 2020 election, including promoting a pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” petition.
With Reilly term limited, the Republican ticket is up for grabs in 2022. The two other competitors are Orion Township Treasurer Donni Steele and Melissa Anne Carone, a Lake Orion resident who came to brief national attention as a witness in Rudy Giuliani’s failed attempt to overturn the results of Michigan’s 2020 election.
No Democrats have announced campaigns for HD-46, according to Oakland County Democratic Party (OCDP) Director of Operations Marci Welford.
HD-46 is not Schriver’s first attempt at running for office. In 2020 he ran against Phil Weipert in the Republican primary for the Oakland County Board of Commissioners 8th District, losing to Weipert who was reelected against Democrat challenger Toni Nagy.
“It was an excellent experience,” Schriver said. “I learned how campaigns go from top to button and up, down and all around. It gave me a huge idea on what it takes to win and what it takes to run a campaign without compromising your values.”
Outside of the strictly political realm, Schriver has worked with children since his time at Michigan State. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), has a master’s degree in psychology and works in the field of autism medicine.
Schriver moved to Oxford after marrying. He grew up around Warren and Royal Oak while his wife is from western Oakland County.
“We were looking for a place to call our own that was mutually exclusive, still in the metro Detroit area and kinda split between where we grew up and where our family and friends are,” Schriver said. “We looked at a few different places and we really felt at home when we visited Oxford, Lake Orion, this particular area.”