Rep. Mark Schauer (D)

The new congressman from the 7th District is Democrat Mark Schauer, the latest beneficiary of the district’s political volatility. (Voters have elected four different representatives in the past four elections.) Schauer was born and raised in the small town of Howell, Mich. His father was a high school science teacher and his mother was a nurse at a small medical practice. He grew up in the same town as his three living grandparents and calls himself the product of a close-knit family. Schauer cites as his most important influences his Methodist faith and his grandfather, a 45-year lineman for the Detroit Edison utility who taught him the value of work. The family’s modest economic background would later push Schauer strongly into the Democratic fold when he launched his career in public service and community advocacy. He spent more than a decade organizing in south central Michigan, representing both local government and advocacy agencies. Schauer’s work brought him into close contact with government at every level, and he came to view elected office as a promising opportunity. He served as a city commissioner in his hometown of Battle Creek for two years before launching his first successful run for the state House in 1996 in a Republican-leaning district. He served two terms in the state House and then won election to the Michigan Senate. There, he became the party floor leader, the second-ranking position in the Democratic conference. After winning a second Senate term in 2006, he was elevated to Democratic leader.

In August 2007, Schauer announced he would challenge 7th District Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican who had limped into office in 2006 against poorly funded Democrat Sharon Renier. Walberg had won the Republican nomination by ousting moderate GOP Rep. Joe Schwarz with the help of the national anti-tax organization Club for Growth. Schauer labeled Walberg as too conservative for the district’s voters. In the 2008 Democratic primary, Schauer easily bested Renier after securing the backing of most local Democrats and raising large sums of money.

With the local and national economies in free fall, Schauer focused his campaign on economic issues. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attacked Walberg for supporting “unfair trade” and jobs outsourcing, and ran ads asking, “Is it that he doesn’t get it? Or that he just doesn’t care?” In supporting Walberg, the National Republican Congressional Committee declared that Schauer “failed our families” by voting for Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s tax increases.

Schauer, a devout Methodist, was relatively insulated from criticism on cultural issues, although Walberg accused him of voting “to let adults send pornography to minors over the Internet.” When a constituent complained to Walberg about the high level of negativity in the race, he responded by heatedly listing everything he saw as wrong with Schauer’s positions, and asked, “How do you make a negative record like that sound positive?”

The Club for Growth again ran ads supporting Walberg, spending more than $500,000 attacking Schauer. But Schauer had strong union backing. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees spent $500,000 on his behalf, and he received $300,000 in campaign contributions from other labor groups. He was also endorsed by several prominent local Republicans, the most important being Schwarz, who criticized the Club for Growth’s involvement in the race. Schauer narrowly won, beating Walberg 48.8%-46.5%, with Libertarian and Green Party candidates winning 4.7% of the vote between them. Schauer is the first Democrat to represent the district since it was created after the 1990 census. The candidates spent about $2 million apiece, and outside groups spent nearly as much as the candidates.

Schauer was appointed to the Agriculture Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He has said his main focus in Congress would be protecting jobs at home and encouraging investment in his district. He avidly supported the 2008 federal bailout of the domestic auto industry, a big employer in his district. With the fifth-lowest winning percentage of any House freshman, Schauer may be a Republican target in 2010.