MI: Widner drops 7th District congressional race Al Widner, who many Democrats hoped had a good shot at Nick Smith's 7th District congressional seat in south central Michigan, has withdrawn as a candidate, citing difficulties in fundraising. The former school superintendent had been regarded as certain to be the Democratic nominee. According to his press release: "Widner said that the demands of running a full-fledged campaign were overwhelming, and he quickly discovered he had to dedicate most waking hours to fundraising." Widner had told supporters that the 7th District had the highest Democratic vote of any Republican-held congressional seat. (Not...