Katherine
Hutt Scott
Gannett News
Service
WASHINGTON
—Two
Washington-based
groups, the
conservative
Club for
Growth and the
moderate
Republican Main
Street
Partnership, are
spending
hundreds of
thousands of
dollars to back
opposing
candidates in
Michigan's 7th
Congressional
District primary
race.
Freshman
GOP Rep. Joe
Schwarz of
Battle Creek and
Tim Walberg, a
former minister
and state
representative
from Tipton,
will face off
the in the
Republican
primary election
on Tuesday.
The
Club for
Growth and a
tax-exempt
affiliate have
spent $392,989
to buy broadcast
advertising and
send mailings
that support
Walberg,
according to
Michigan
Campaign
Finance
Network, a
Lansing group
that researches
money in
state politics.
In
addition, the
Club for
Growth has
solicited
$476,709 in
donations from
among its 36,000
members around
the country and
forwarded them
to Walberg,
Michigan
Campaign
Finance
Network numbers
show.
Club
President Pat
Toomey says
Walberg supports
the club's goal
of a limited
federal
government
that enacts
pro-growth
economic
policies, and
Schwarz does
not.
"(Schwarz)
is a supporter
of the whole
culture of
excessive
(government)
spending,"
Toomey said in
an interview. He
is a former
three-term GOP
congressman from
Pennsylvania.
The
Republican Main
Street
Partnership,
which represents
48 members of
Congress and
four governors,
has spent
$470,000 to buy
broadcast
advertising and
send mailings
that support
Schwarz,
executive
director Sarah
Chamberlain
Resnick said in
an interview.
The group,
whose members
describe
themselves as
conservative on
economic issues
and moderate on
social issues,
jumped into the
Schwarz-Walberg
race because
they believe
fellow GOP
lawmakers
shouldn't be
challenged in
primaries,
Resnick said.
"We follow
Ronald Reagan's
11th
commandment,
which is, 'Thou
shall not speak
ill of your
own.' " Resnick
said.
Schwarz
won Michigan's
7th District
seat in 2004
after defeating
Walberg and four
other
conservative
Republicans in a
primary election
two years ago.
At that time,
Republican Main
Street
Partnership
backed Schwarz
and
Club for
Growth supported
Brad Smith of
Addison, the son
of then-Rep.
Nick Smith, who
retired. Brad
Smith came in
second and
Walberg finished
third.
Resnick
said the
Club for
Growth wanted
revenge this
year, after its
candidate lost
two years ago.
Toomey
denied that.
"People
ought to just
acknowledge that
we've got honest
differences over
policy," he
said.
This
year's battle
has produced
some unusual
patterns in the
money
flowing into and
out of the
campaign war
chests,
according to the
Center for
Responsive
Politics, a
Washington group
that tracks
money in
politics.
Only 13
percent of
Schwarz's money
comes from
outside of
Michigan, but 76
percent of
Walberg's money
is from outside
the state.
Typically, an
incumbent draws
more money from
outside his
state because he
is better known
than his
challenger,
center spokesman
Massie Ritsch
said.
