Thoughts From a Wandering Soul, Now in the Charm City

There Goes the Neighborhood

SCHWARZ LOSES

Rival Walberg takes District 7

By Andy Rathbun

The Enquirer

One of Battle Creek's favorite sons will be leaving Washington, D.C.

In a stunning ousting of an incumbent congressman, U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz fell to his rival Tim Walberg in a messy, expensive Republican primary and one of the summer's most watched races in Michigan.

Schwarz conceded the race shortly before 11:30 p.m., and Walberg eventually won with 53 percent of the vote.

"In this game you can't cry over spilled milk, and I'm not ...," Schwarz said. "I'm a gentleman who has lived a lot of years. You pick yourself up and tomorrow morning you hit the ground running and never look back."

Schwarz said he wished there had been a better turnout in key areas such as Calhoun and Jackson counties, but, ultimately, he was happy with the campaign he ran.

"We did it with as much dedication we possibly could," he said. "We never pandered to anyone. I stuck to my principles and in the end, you don't have enough votes. But I'm proud of my work in two years in Congress, which is what it will be when it's over."

Joe Wicks, campaign manager for Walberg, was quite pleased with the view from his camp.

"I'll just tell you we're very proud we got our message out in this race," Wicks said.

Walberg did not return calls for additional comment.

Meanwhile, in the crowded Democratic primary, Sharon Renier was leading over three candidates, seemingly headed to win the party's endorsement.

During the Republican campaign, the candidates saw different issues as priorities in the district.

Schwarz, when he wasn't rebutting Walberg's criticisms, talked about jobs. That resonated with Coldwater resident Mike Conant, 61.

"I think the key right now is the economy," Conant said. "For example, right now, I just lost my job on Friday for the fourth time in three years, four years. I'm tired of living in this economy."

Some, however, weren't as concerned about issues as they were about character.

Battle Creek resident Bertha Brown, 85, said she disagreed with Schwarz on abortion; the congressman has said the act should be rare but is ultimately the woman's choice. Nonetheless, she voted for him because she felt he was "a good man."

"He was my doctor at one time," she said.

Walberg, a Tipton resident, often trumpeted social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. For some voters that became a priority.

In Coldwater, Sue and Terry Andress said they felt Walberg represented their conservative views on abortion and gay marriage better than Schwarz. They felt the congressman was, in effect, a liberal.

"I would have to say so, according to his stands, or what I read about them," Sue Andress said, to her husband's agreement.

Indeed, many who voted for Walberg chose the 16-year state House veteran for one reason.

For others, it was simpler still. A vote for Walberg was just a vote for change.

Bellevue resident Susie Brown, 53, said she had not bought into either campaign's propaganda, but felt Schwarz's time in Washington was up. Schwarz, a freshman congressman, has been in office about 18 months.

"Let's get some other ideas in there, give somebody else an opportunity," Brown said. "That's what it's all about."

In 2004, Schwarz won a six-way primary largely because of big wins in Calhoun and Eaton counties, his home area, while other candidates split the rest of the county.

As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Schwarz had held his own in Calhoun, Eaton and Washtenaw counties, but his margins there weren't wide enough to make up for big losses in the other counties. Walberg, for example, carried Lenawee County by nearly 3,000 votes; Schwarz carried Calhoun by some 1,400, with a majority of precincts reporting.

"I'm elated so far," she said late Tuesday.

The Schwarz campaign poured $1.26 million into the race as of July 19, while Walberg spent $344,000 as of the same date. Both had upward of $200,000 going into the campaign's final weeks.

That cash was apart from the hundreds of thousands spent by rival political organizations in the district.

The Club for Growth, Walberg's chief benefactor, bought $393,000 worth of ads, painting their candidate as a stalwart conservative and Schwarz as a liberal. Another $477,000 from the group's members was forwarded to Walberg.

Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth, was watching the numbers come in Tuesday night.

"We've got a tremendous win," Toomey said.

Schwarz pointed to the Club for Growth dollars as factor in his loss.

"It's very difficult, almost impossible, to run against a single issue group that had unlimited funds funneled into the state," Schwarz said. "We did everything we could possibly do."

Outside support came to Schwarz from the Republican Main Street Partnership, who bolstered the incumbent with $470,000 in ad buys. The moderate organization portrayed Walberg as a do-nothing politico.

In the lead up to the Democratic, there rarely seemed to be a favorite, though as of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Sharon Renier held the lead, with 4,672 votes and more than half the district's precincts reporting. Her closest rival, Fred Strack, had 1,720 votes.

Most of the Democrats chose to attack the Bush administration, and were quick to critique Schwarz due to his support of the president. Renier was among that group, but also brought experience from the 2004 election. Then, she won the primary but lost the general election to Schwarz. She said that experience helped give voters confidence in her abilities.

posted by Marquise at 10:42 PM