GOP Spars Over Mich. Congressional Seat
Michigan Congressional Seat Turns Into Expensive, Nasty Republican Battle
By KEN THOMAS
JACKSON, Mich. Aug 6, 2006 (AP)— Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz is backed by President Bush, Arizona Sen. John McCain and the National Rifle Association.
In most years that would be more than enough to recapture the nomination in this rural Michigan district where the Republican Party blossomed.
But this year may be different.
Schwarz, a 68-year-old moderate Republican, was a fixture in local and state politics for 25 years before winning a seat in Congress in 2004. But in a primary that has topped $1 million in spending by outside groups and generated bad blood between the two candidates, Schwarz faces a serious challenge from conservative former state lawmaker Tim Walberg in Tuesday's primary.
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Schwarz's seat has been put in the crosshairs by the conservative Club for Growth, which has spent more than $400,000 in independent expenditures while directing donors to support Walberg, who has received most of his $600,000 in funding from outside the district.
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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2279747