Schor won't run for Congress; Byrum still considering

LANSING — Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said he will not run for Congress, weeks after announcing a committee to explore a run for the seat.

"While it would be an honor to serve our residents in Congress, and I’m grateful to have had the conversations about the very important issues of our district, state, and nation, I have decided to suspend any further efforts to explore this campaign in order to focus on our city and my job as Mayor," he said in an email to supporters Monday morning.

Schor said the long campaign to run for the seat currently held by Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, would have likely drawn his attention away from his current position.

Noting that the 7th District includes Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Shiawassee and Livingston counties and portions of Oakland and Genesee counties, he said "17 months is a long time to put total energy into both growing a city and campaigning for Congress throughout 5+ counties."

Schor also said he will be returning any contributions made to his exploratory committee.

Schor is one of several prominent local Democrats who have publicly mulled a run to replace Slotkin, who is running for U.S. Senate − but Schor was the first to take the official step of an exploratory committee formation.

Other Democrats considering a run include Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, State Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, State Rep. Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township, and State Rep. Julie Brixie, D-East Lansing. East Lansing State Sen. Sam Singh has said he won't run for the seat and former State Sen. Curtis Hertel has not commented on a possible run publicly.

Former Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte has indicated that he plans on running for the seat again after a hard-fought 2022 campaign. Barrett lost by 5 points in what became one of the most expensive House races in the country, drawing over $26 million in outside spending.

National Republicans have also touted the seat as a possible pickup opportunity, indicating that it will likely receive significant funding from both parties.

Byrum, in a tweet Monday morning, praised Schor and continued to tease her own possible candidacy.

"Running for Congress is a challenging undertaking and one that cannot be taken lightly. In a competitive district like the 7th Congressional District, this is even more so," she wrote. "The eyes of the nation will be on us and the balance of Congress could very well be decided in mid-Michigan."

The district has been rated a “tossup” by several political analysis organizations, including the Cook Political Report and the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

"Fortunately we are blessed with a wealth of democratic candidates and I certainly count Mayor@andyschor among them. Andy is a long-time friend and I am very confident that the City of Lansing will continue to be in good hands under his leadership," Byrum continued.

Byrum said that she continues to receive encouragements to run from in and outside of the district.

In his email, Schor offered his support for the eventual Democratic nominee.

"Our next representative in Congress needs to be someone who can work with all people and all parties to get things done in Washington DC for our residents. I look forward to seeing who will run for this seat and work with them on behalf of every Lansing resident," he said. "And I intend to ensure that our next Congressperson fully understands that Lansing’s time truly is now."

Contact Sheldon Krause at skrause@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter@sheldonjkrause.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing Mayor Andy Schor won't run for 7th Congressional seat