State Senator Mark Schauer, a Battle Creek Democrat, was mentioned quite a bit last fall and early this year as a potential candidate for Congress in the 7th District. He's been a fantastic party leader in the legislature, supporting the netroots and working to solve the Michigan budget crisis. His name was even tossed around by supporters of Joe Schwarz in 2006 as a reason not to vote for Tim Walberg, suggesting that Walberg in 2006 would inevitably lead to a Schauer victory in 2008.

Schauer and his staff quashed most speculation this spring, promising to stay on as leader of the Democratic caucus in the Senate until the end of his term in 2010. Most observers-- including journalist Jack Lessenberry-- thought he would have been a formidable candidate, but Schauer seemed determined to sit this election out.

But all of that might be changing.

Interesting tidbit from The Hotline On Call today.  In a blurb about how Michigan could be for the Republicans in 2008 what Pennsylvania was in 2006, due to the narrow margins of victory by GOP candidates this past November, there was a mention of the 7th District.  It's where former Representative Joe Schwarz, a more moderate Republican, was ousted in the GOP primary by conservative Tim Walberg, who ultimately won the seat in the general.  Here's what the blurb said:

Article link

-- Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI 07) didn't even win a majority of the vote despite running against an underfunded opponent. And speculation abounds that ex-Rep. Joe Schwarz (R) could run as a Dem against him in '08.

The Democratic nominee is Sharon Marie Renier. She's kind of quirky and ran an unimpressive campaign in 2004 against Joe Schwarz, losing by 22 percent in a district that went 45 percent to Kerry. To be fair, Schwarz was a popular moderate and well-funded. The fact that Renier got what she did-- with a budget of just a few thousand dollars-- is almost impressive. This year, some speculation followed Walberg's victory on whether or not Renier could make the race competitive, but without polling data, no one could be sure. That all changed, with the release of the first public poll on the race:

MI-07 - M.o.E. +/-4.0% - Conducted Oct. 6-7 by Glengariff Group, Inc.

Tim Walberg (R) - 43%
Sharon Renier (D) - 35%
Undecided - 22%

More in the Extended Entry...

After multiple interviews in which he criticizes Michigan's 7th District's Republican nominee Tim Walberg, Congressman Joe Schwarz picked up his pen once again for a column in Sunday, September 17's Washington Post (apparently available early online). (All emphasis added)

  I am the political equivalent of a woolly mammoth, a rarity heading for extinction. Yes, I'm a moderate.

More in the extended entry...

On August 8th, while all attention was on the Lieberman-Lamont race in Connecticut, a tough primary battle ended as McCain-style moderate Congressman Joe Schwarz was defeated for nomination in Michigan's 7th District. His opponent, former State Rep. Tim Walberg, ran a negative campaign claiming Schwarz was a "liberal," largely backed by the Club for Growth, Right to Life, and the Minuteman PAC.

Following his loss, Schwarz has been largely silent about his plans for the future. However, it's becoming increasingly clear what he does not intend to do:

Some harsh criticism in the extended entry...

  I come to you tonight to bring awareness to a problem facing Michigan's 7th Congressional District.  Tonight, incumbent, moderate Republican Joe Schwarz lost his primary election to Tim Walhberg.  
  At first glance this appears to be a good thing.  Unfortunately for everyone Walhberg is much farther to the right than Schwarz.  Most of Wahlberg's financing came from the Club for Growth PAC and he's been endorsed by groups such as Citizens for Traditional Values, and National Right to Life.  Walhberg represents everything wrong with far-right politics, and I can't allow him to be my representative in Congress.

There is good news however, her name is Sharon Renier. www.renier4rep.com

In GA-04, Hank Johnson crushed McKinney 59-41.

In MI-07, Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz lost to Tim Walberg 55-45.

And of course, there's CT-Sen.  

Not so fast.

Moderate Republicans (now there's an endangered species) often face primary contests from right-wingers who turn out in force and thus have disproportionate influence over their party.

Case in point: Michigan's 7th District.

DailyKos: Yeah, yeah... heard it before 1,000 times...

No, you haven't.

I am not talking about Ted Lamont challenging Joe Lieberman - I am talking about Tim Walberg challenging Joe Schwarz in the Republican primary to represent Michigan's 7th Congressional District.  Both primaries are August 8th, but this is probably the first you've heard of the Michigan primary challenge from the Right.

When analyzing vulnerable Congressional districts, Michigan is often ignored, having been gerrymandered out of relevancy by a Republican legislature. When it is mentioned, three districts-- the 8th, the 9th, and the 11th-- are usually listed as the only Democratic pick-up opportunites, and even they are considered longshots. These three races are certainly worth watching, and certainly worth supporting.

But there's another Michigan district that's been all but forgotten. It's a district Democrats should win in, and it's a district Democrats can win in. But for some reason, no one's talking about Michigan's 7th Congressional District.

More in the extended entry.

On selected days over the last four months, my local peace group in Lansing, Michigan has been conducting an anti-war protest called Petals for Peace.