Dan
05-20-2004, 01:22 AM
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/politics-0/1085025260112490.xml
7th District GOP race pits five conservatives against a moderate
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Associated Press
5/19/2004, 11:45 p.m. ET
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's 7th congressional district stretches from Washtenaw County in the east to Battle Creek in the west. On the way, it takes in the city of Jackson, the farms of Hillsdale County and every kind of Republican voter, from religious conservatives to ticket-splitting moderates.
This summer, six candidates are aiming to win the hearts of the district's Republicans and find out just how conservative the voters are in this longtime GOP stronghold.
Five of the candidates are fiscal and social conservatives who oppose abortion rights. Among them is attorney Brad Smith, the son of U.S. Rep. Nick Smith, who now holds the seat, and state Rep. Clark Bisbee of Jackson, who has won key endorsements from Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
The sixth candidate, former state Sen. John "Joe" Schwarz of Battle Creek, is a surgeon and a moderate who supports abortion rights.
Nick Smith, a Republican farmer from Addison, has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed, anti-tax crusader who opposed most federal spending bills and is stepping down because of self-imposed term limits. Three Democrats are running for his seat, but since the district is traditionally Republican, the winner of the Aug. 3 GOP primary is likely to win the November election.
Schwarz, who lost to Nick Smith in a 1992 congressional race, believes he'll have an edge because of the number of social conservatives in the race.
"If there were only one abortion and Second Amendment person and one moderate person in the race, the abortion and Second Amendment person would win," he said. "But there's five of them, and they're going to split that vote."
That was precisely the concern of Right to Life, which endorsed Bisbee on April 26. Right to Life doesn't usually endorse in primaries with more than one anti-abortion candidate, but hoped its clout would convince some candidates to drop out of this race.
"Our desire was to unite the pro-life vote," said Larry Galmish, political director of Right to Life of Michigan.
The attempt backfired. Angered by the choice of Bisbee, a travel agent and five-year veteran of the state House whose fund-raising had been weak, the four other conservatives decided to stay in the race.
"I was in the Legislature for 16 years, had a 100 percent pro-life record and co-sponsored pro-life legislation," said former state Rep. Tim Walberg of Tipton, who now works for Moody Bible Institute. "Clark Bisbee was not a leader on this issue."
Former state Rep. Paul DeWeese, an emergency room physician from Eaton Rapids, said he was outraged he wasn't chosen after serving as an expert witness for Right to Life in several court cases.
DeWeese and state Rep. Gene DeRossett, R-Manchester, say the Michigan Chamber of Commerce pressured Right to Life to select Bisbee because he had a stronger voting record on certain business issues. For example, DeRossett and DeWeese opposed a Chamber-backed measure that would have required unemployed workers to wait a week before receiving their checks. The Chamber endorsed Bisbee on May 10.
"It got political, and being political, it didn't accomplish what they had hoped," DeRossett said.
Galmish denies the chamber was involved in Right to Life's decision, but acknowledges that the organization didn't want five anti-abortion candidates in the race.
Bisbee says the endorsement came down to numbers. His base of Jackson County has more voters than any other area in the district, he says, including Schwarz's territory in Calhoun County.
"If I'm not the candidate and Joe comes into Jackson, all of a sudden we have an unacceptable candidate," Bisbee said.
Bisbee said the Right to Life and Chamber of Commerce endorsements gave him a huge boost and will bring in campaign money. As of April 15, he had less cash on hand than DeRossett, DeWeese and Brad Smith. Schwarz, who began his campaign in January, had raised the most since the beginning of this year.
Brad Smith is expecting to have significant resources after winning the endorsement of the Washington-based Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group. He says the group could raise up to $400,000 for his campaign. He also believes his family name will help him lock up the nomination.
DeRossett, who left a contracting business when he entered the state House in 1998, believes gun rights supporters will decide the election and will support him because he won the endorsement of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. Bisbee dismisses that endorsement, calling MCRGO "a radical gun group."
Schwarz says the Iraq war and the economy — not gun rights — are the major issues on voters' minds. But he also believes he can win over gun rights supporters because he is the only candidate who served in the Vietnam War.
"I can break down and reassemble any 9 mm weapon ever made, so don't give me this malarkey about being soft on the Second Amendment," Schwarz said.
In the end, the winning candidate could get less than one-quarter of the 60,000 or so votes that are likely to be cast. Observers say that will make it a nail-biter.
"We're a long way away, and anything can happen," said Bill Ballenger, editor of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics. "I think it's going to go right down to the wire."
7th District GOP race pits five conservatives against a moderate
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Associated Press
5/19/2004, 11:45 p.m. ET
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's 7th congressional district stretches from Washtenaw County in the east to Battle Creek in the west. On the way, it takes in the city of Jackson, the farms of Hillsdale County and every kind of Republican voter, from religious conservatives to ticket-splitting moderates.
This summer, six candidates are aiming to win the hearts of the district's Republicans and find out just how conservative the voters are in this longtime GOP stronghold.
Five of the candidates are fiscal and social conservatives who oppose abortion rights. Among them is attorney Brad Smith, the son of U.S. Rep. Nick Smith, who now holds the seat, and state Rep. Clark Bisbee of Jackson, who has won key endorsements from Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
The sixth candidate, former state Sen. John "Joe" Schwarz of Battle Creek, is a surgeon and a moderate who supports abortion rights.
Nick Smith, a Republican farmer from Addison, has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed, anti-tax crusader who opposed most federal spending bills and is stepping down because of self-imposed term limits. Three Democrats are running for his seat, but since the district is traditionally Republican, the winner of the Aug. 3 GOP primary is likely to win the November election.
Schwarz, who lost to Nick Smith in a 1992 congressional race, believes he'll have an edge because of the number of social conservatives in the race.
"If there were only one abortion and Second Amendment person and one moderate person in the race, the abortion and Second Amendment person would win," he said. "But there's five of them, and they're going to split that vote."
That was precisely the concern of Right to Life, which endorsed Bisbee on April 26. Right to Life doesn't usually endorse in primaries with more than one anti-abortion candidate, but hoped its clout would convince some candidates to drop out of this race.
"Our desire was to unite the pro-life vote," said Larry Galmish, political director of Right to Life of Michigan.
The attempt backfired. Angered by the choice of Bisbee, a travel agent and five-year veteran of the state House whose fund-raising had been weak, the four other conservatives decided to stay in the race.
"I was in the Legislature for 16 years, had a 100 percent pro-life record and co-sponsored pro-life legislation," said former state Rep. Tim Walberg of Tipton, who now works for Moody Bible Institute. "Clark Bisbee was not a leader on this issue."
Former state Rep. Paul DeWeese, an emergency room physician from Eaton Rapids, said he was outraged he wasn't chosen after serving as an expert witness for Right to Life in several court cases.
DeWeese and state Rep. Gene DeRossett, R-Manchester, say the Michigan Chamber of Commerce pressured Right to Life to select Bisbee because he had a stronger voting record on certain business issues. For example, DeRossett and DeWeese opposed a Chamber-backed measure that would have required unemployed workers to wait a week before receiving their checks. The Chamber endorsed Bisbee on May 10.
"It got political, and being political, it didn't accomplish what they had hoped," DeRossett said.
Galmish denies the chamber was involved in Right to Life's decision, but acknowledges that the organization didn't want five anti-abortion candidates in the race.
Bisbee says the endorsement came down to numbers. His base of Jackson County has more voters than any other area in the district, he says, including Schwarz's territory in Calhoun County.
"If I'm not the candidate and Joe comes into Jackson, all of a sudden we have an unacceptable candidate," Bisbee said.
Bisbee said the Right to Life and Chamber of Commerce endorsements gave him a huge boost and will bring in campaign money. As of April 15, he had less cash on hand than DeRossett, DeWeese and Brad Smith. Schwarz, who began his campaign in January, had raised the most since the beginning of this year.
Brad Smith is expecting to have significant resources after winning the endorsement of the Washington-based Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group. He says the group could raise up to $400,000 for his campaign. He also believes his family name will help him lock up the nomination.
DeRossett, who left a contracting business when he entered the state House in 1998, believes gun rights supporters will decide the election and will support him because he won the endorsement of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. Bisbee dismisses that endorsement, calling MCRGO "a radical gun group."
Schwarz says the Iraq war and the economy — not gun rights — are the major issues on voters' minds. But he also believes he can win over gun rights supporters because he is the only candidate who served in the Vietnam War.
"I can break down and reassemble any 9 mm weapon ever made, so don't give me this malarkey about being soft on the Second Amendment," Schwarz said.
In the end, the winning candidate could get less than one-quarter of the 60,000 or so votes that are likely to be cast. Observers say that will make it a nail-biter.
"We're a long way away, and anything can happen," said Bill Ballenger, editor of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics. "I think it's going to go right down to the wire."