House Democrats Land Michigan Recruit #MI07

Posted July 18, 2013 at 6:30am

Democratic former state Rep. Pam Byrnes announced Thursday she’ll challenge Republican Rep. Tim Walberg in Michigan’s 7th District.

“Washington is broken and Rep. Tim Walberg is part of the problem,” Byrnes said in a release. “Michigan’s middle-class is paying the price for his partisan politics that put special interests and corporation before working families.”

The recruit, and the district, had not previously been prominent going into the 2014 cycle. Mitt Romney carried the district by 3 points in 2012, while President Barack Obama carried it by the same margin in 2008. This race is rated Safe Republican by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

Byrnes was a member of the state House until 2010, when she was term-limited out of office. She lost a state Senate bid that cycle, according to AnnArbor.com.