By WKAR
Battle Creek, MI – Former U.S. Representative Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) has announced he won't seek re-election to Congress in 2012.
Schauer represented Michigan's 7th district for one term in Congress. He defeated incumbent Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) in 2008, who re-claimed his seat in the 2010 election.
Since then, the congressional redistricting process that followed the 2010 census moved Schauer's Battle Creek political home base out of the 7th district and into more solid GOP territory.
In a written statement, Schauer says his first priority "will continue to be my wife and our family."
Though he's withdrawn his own hat from the ring, Schauer adds that the 7th district "remains winnable for a Democratic candidate in 2012."