After the filing deadline

The filing deadline for November's races in Michigan just passed. Of course, Dick DeVos will face Governor Jennifer Granholm in the gubernatorial race. Michael Bouchard, Keith Butler, and Jerry Zandstra will compete for the Republican nomination to take on Senator Debbie Stabenow.

None of the congressional races will be competitive in the general election. Democrats had harbored some hopes of making them competitive, but they won't be. The only competitive congressional race will be the primary campaign between Congressman Joe Schwarz and former State Rep. Tim Walberg. Congressional Quarterly summarizes the race:

"One Republican House incumbent in Michigan appears to face serious danger at the polls this year. Unfortunately for the state's Democrats, the threatening challenge comes from another Republican, rather than from one of their candidates.

First-term Rep. Joe Schwarz, a Republican centrist, is being challenged in the 7th District Aug. 8 primary by conservative Tim Walberg, a former state representative who boasts support from the national anti-tax organization Club for Growth. But the survivor of that primary will be heavily favored in November."

" 7th District: The Schwarz-Walberg showdown in the 7th District primary is something of a rematch of the 2004 contest, but with a lot less company. Four other Republicans also were on the ballot in that year's race to succeed retiring six-term Republican Rep. Nick Smith.

That, in fact, is the crux of Walberg's challenge this year. Schwarz was the sole moderate in a field crowded with conservatives, and he won the primary with 28 percent of the vote. Walberg argues that the district's conservative-leaning GOP primary electorate will favor him in a one-on-one match. But Schwarz has rallied support from much of the state and national Republican establishment as the incumbent in the race.

Schwarz has a typical incumbent's advantage in overall fundraising, with $811,000 in receipts as of March 31 to Walberg's $343,000. But Schwarz also has spent much more money already, leaving the two more closely matched -- $334,000 to $304,000 -- in cash on hand.

The winner will almost certainly be favored to hold the seat for the Republicans in a district that in 2004 gave 54 percent to Bush and 58 percent of the general election vote to Schwarz.

CQ rates the 7th District general election as Safe Republican."

You can see evaluations of Schwarz's record on abortion, guns, and overall.

I'll run through the local races later.