BATTLE CREEK - Today former U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI) formally endorsed Mark Schauer (D-MI) in his campaign for re-election over former Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI). Dr. Schwarz represented Michigan’s 7th district from 2005-2006, and chaired the successful “Cure Michigan” campaign in 2008 to amend the state’s constitution, lifting restrictions on the search for cures and legalizing embryonic stem cell research.

“I know Mark and Tim well, and while I may not agree with Mark on all the issues, he’s clearly the best candidate to get things done, and clearly the candidate who will be the most helpful to our communities”, said Dr. Schwarz. “Integrity matters. Mark has represented us well and fought hard for our district. Mark takes the correct positions on Social Security and on economic deveopment. For me, results and reasonable positions on difficult issues trump partisanship, and that’s why I’m proud to support Mark Schauer.”

Two years ago, Dr. Schwarz endorsed Schauer in his first race against Tim Walberg. Schwarz and Schauer previously worked together on a community effort to prevent the closure of the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base. [Battle Creek Enquirer, 8/27/05]

“Joe is a true statesman who has served our state with distinction, and I’m honored to have his support,” said Rep. Schauer. “I didn’t go to Washington to work for Wall Street or my party, I went to work for Michigan. That’s why I’m committed to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to level the playing field for our businesses so they can create jobs here, not China.”

BACKGROUND:

Earlier this summer, Tim Walberg made the following two statements about Social Security within a matter of weeks:

* “I have always opposed privatization of the Social Security system.” [Walberg press release]
* “I would definitely support the privatization of the so-called Social Security system.” [iCaucus interview]

This prompted the conservative Hillsdale Daily News editorial page to write, “we think Republican candidate for Congress Tim Walberg needs to come clean about his views on privatizing Social Security.” [Hillsdale Daily News, 8/20/10]