On Their Way: Walberg to Bring Conservative Voice to Mich. 7th

Michigan Republican Tim Walberg’s Aug. 8 primary victory to unseat one-term Rep. Joe Schwarz was vindication for the minister and former state representative, who had sought the seat in the state’s 7th District two years earlier.

Walberg’s win was fueled by the strong sentiment among the district’s conservative Republican base that Schwarz, a centrist Republican, had won the open-seat 2004 primary with 28 percent of the vote only because conservative voters divided among Walberg and four other candidates running to Schwarz’s right.

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The 7th District is not one of the nation’s premier Republican strongholds, with President Bush holding a 54 percent to 45 percent advantage over Democrat John Kerry in 2004. Yet Walberg appears a virtual shoo-in over Democratic nominee Sharon Renier, an organic farmer who ran in 2004 and took just 36 percent, losing to Schwarz by 22 percentage points

With the national Democratic Party showing no signs of adding the 7th to their targeted race list, Walberg becomes the latest member of CQ’s “On Their Way” club — made up of open-seat candidates who, because of their personal strengths and the partisan leanings of their districts, appear sure bets for the November elections.

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http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/10/11/cq_1607.html?pagewanted=print