Posted on 08/04/2004 3:41:15 AM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Schwarz wins GOP nomination for 7th District U.S. House seat
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Associated Press
8/4/2004, 2:26 a.m. ET
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — Twelve years after losing to U.S. Rep. Nick Smith for the 7th District congressional seat, surgeon and former state Sen. John Schwarz on Tuesday won a six-way primary and will be the Republican nominee in the race to replace Smith this November.
Schwarz, 66, a maverick who supports abortion rights, said the race would show whether a moderate could win the rural district in southern Michigan. Schwarz decided late last year to run for Smith's seat after Smith announced he would step down due to self-imposed term limits.
"This is a big and diverse district, and I am honored to get the Republican nomination," Schwarz told about 75 supporters at a restaurant in Marshall.
He will face Democrat Sharon Renier, an organic farmer from Munith, in the November election. Renier won a three-way race for the Democratic nomination.
The district — which includes all of Lenawee, Hillsdale, Jackson, Eaton and Branch counties and parts of Calhoun and Washtenaw counties — traditionally is Republican.
"I love playing with history," Renier said. "I don't see why it isn't feasible (for a Democrat to win)."
Schwarz had 28 percent of the Republican vote with 92 percent of the precincts reporting. Brad Smith, an Addison attorney and Nick Smith's son, had 23 percent. He conceded defeat early Wednesday.
"We came reasonably close to beating him," Smith said. "We had a lot of odds to overcome, and I think we nearly did it."
Smith said Republicans should now unite to make sure Schwarz is elected in November.
Former state Rep. Tim Walberg of Tipton had 19 percent. State Rep. Clark Bisbee of Jackson had 15 percent. State Rep. Gene DeRossett of Manchester had 9 percent, and former state Rep. Paul DeWeese of Eaton Rapids had 7 percent.
Renier had 51 percent of the Democratic vote with 92 percent of precincts reporting. Drew Walker, a government consultant from Battle Creek, had 25 percent and Douglas Wilson, a paramedic from Oxford, had 24 percent.
No incumbent members of Congress faced primary challenges in Michigan's 14 other districts. But there were three other Democratic primaries where candidates were vying to meet Republican incumbents in November.
In the 8th District, retired state employee Bob Alexander of East Lansing defeated former radio journalist Matt Ferguson of Lansing, 59 percent to 41 percent, with 85 percent of precincts reporting. Alexander will run in November against GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, a two-term incumbent from Brighton.
In the 11th District, Phillip Truran, president of a local Communications Workers of America union, had 69 percent of the vote with 59 percent of the precincts reporting. Perennial Democratic candidate Mario Fundarski had 31 percent. The seat now is held by one-term Republican Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia.
In the 9th District, attorney Steven Reifman of Farmington had 62 percent of the vote with 69 percent of the precincts reporting. Challenger Bart Baron, a consultant from Troy, had 38 percent. The winner of that race will face six-term incumbent Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg of Oakland County's Bloomfield Township.
The 7th District GOP race pitted five conservatives against Schwarz, a moderate who supports abortion rights and campaigned with Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Schwarz, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 1992, said the race would prove whether a moderate could win the conservative district.
Hoping to persuade conservatives to drop out of the race instead of splitting the vote, Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce endorsed Bisbee in April. The decision angered the other conservatives candidates, who felt they had stronger anti-abortion credentials, and all five stayed in the race.
Schwarz has been the target of negative ads by DeRossett, Smith and Walberg, who portrayed him as a liberal who supports gay marriage. Schwarz denied the charges and criticized Smith for collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in farm subsidies.
Smith benefited from ads featuring his father as well as an endorsement from the Club for Growth, a conservative Washington group. He raised $439,567, the most of any candidate, despite fears that Republicans wouldn't back him after his father voted against a GOP-backed Medicare prescription drug bill.
The race was the first in Michigan to involve the Millionaire's Amendment, a 2002 campaign reform measure that raises donation limits for candidates who face wealthy opponents. The amendment kicked in after DeRossett loaned himself $451,000
But I really don't look forward for even two years of 'bubba who likes to strap on a 9mm'.
We see this in New Hampshire all the time: five Reagan-Republicans divide the vote on a RINO-Pantywaste wins. Unfortunately in our case, neither draftdodginjebbradley or limpwristedcharliebass is "old".
A RINO representing a conservative district who isn't even pro-life? He may better than nothing but he's nothing to crow about.
Bradley has actually surprised me a bit and went further to the right than i gave him credit for with some crucial votes. That being said i still wish he and Bass would go much further right
He'll be the new Fred Upton. The state is funny, while the farther west you go, the more conservative the people, the opposite is true for their congressional representation.
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