It's not a Democrat-friendly district or a Democrat-friendly year, but that hasn't deterred Democrats from running for Michigan's 3rd district House seat.

First-time candidate Patrick Miles Jr. (D), announced his candidacy Thursday. Miles is pitching himself as an outsider, and touting his experience as "a business lawyer helping small, family-owned businesses start, grow, and create jobs in West Michigan."

He joins former Kent County Commissioner Paul Mayhue (D) in the Democratic field for the seat, which is being vacated by Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), who is retiring at the end of his current term.

The Republican field is much more crowded. GOP contenders include first-term state Rep. Justin Amash, state Sen. Bill Hardiman, former Kent County Commissioner Steven Heacock and Air Force veteran Bob Overbeek.

CQ Politics rates the general election contest Safe Republican.

To follow all the 2010 House races, check out our election map.

It didn't take long -- a couple of weeks after he announced his bid for governor of Michigan -- for longshot candidate Dan Kildee to realize how long a shot he was. Kildee, the former treasurer of Genesee County, announced Friday that he has ended his brief camaign for the Democratic nomination.

After more than 20 years of county-level government work, Daniel T. Kildee is going statewide as a candidate for governor of Michigan, according to local news reports.

He'll be seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, a Democrat who's term-limited and can't run again. Already running in that primary are Virg Bernero, the mayor of Lansing; and state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith.

If Kildee's name sounds familiar, it's probably because he is the nephew of Rep. Dale Kildee, who's been in Congress since 1977.

But Uncle Dale isn't Kildee's most interesting political tie. He also has a connection to a big-time film maker raised in the same part of Michigan: Michael Moore.

Rep. John Dingell is not prepared to give up his title of longest-serving House member just yet.

The 27-term Democrat from Michigan confirmed Saturday morning that he will run for re-election in 2010. Speaking to the College Democrats of Ann Arbor, Dingell said "Now is not the time to walk away."

"Given the current status of our economy, Michigan needs experienced leaders in Washington to stand up for our families and help dig the state out of this economic depression," he said. " I have the experience and determination to make sure we are doing what we have to do to create jobs and get this economy back on its feet."

Dingell, 83, was first elected to represent Southeastern Michigan's 15th district in a special election in 1955. He has been re-elected in the Democratic-leaning district by no less than 62 percent since. In 2008, he won with 71 percent of the vote.

CQ Politics rates the general election contest Safe Democratic.

To follow all the 2010 House races, check out our election map.

Bob Overbeek of Wyoming, Mich., sounds like a guy worth keeping an eye on.

He's wrapping up his graduate studies at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and has decided what the next chapter of his adult life should be -- the first chapter having been service in the Air Force.

The Grand Rapids Press reports that Overbeek is running for Congress.

He'll seek the Republican nomination for the seat that's opening up with the retirement of Rep. Vern Ehlers.

It's a very conservative district, and CQ Politics rates the race Safe Republican.

To follow all the 2010 House races, check out our election map.

Strike out another business-oriented, potentially self-financing Democrat from the party's list of possible candidates for governor of Michigan.

Bob Bowman -- a former state treasurer who for the past 10 years has been CEO of Major League Baseball's interactive media division -- has decided against entering the race to succeed term-limited Democratic incumbent Jennifer M. Granholm.

Potential Republican candidates are beginning emerge in the race to succeed Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), who announced his retirement Wednesday.

State Sens. Bill Hardiman and Mark Jansen; former state Rep. Jerry Kooiman; former state Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema; and attorney Jim Mitchell are all exploring a run. However, former Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus has ruled a campaign out.

Hardiman, Jansen, Kooiman and Mitchell all told CQ-Roll Call they plan on making a decision in the next few days or weeks.

Michigan Democrats have been scrambling since the party's first choice to run for governor -- Lt. Gov. John Cherry -- pulled the plug on his cash-poor campaign.

But over the past few days, the Democratic field has begun to take shape in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D).

Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.) will make an announcement about his "future plans" Wednesday morning, and he is expected to say that he will not seek re-election. Michigan TV station WWMT Newschannel 3 as well as Hotline's On Call blog, citing anonymous sources, are reporting that Ehlers will announce that he is retiring.

The 76-year-old Congressman released a statement Tuesday saying he will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. ET in Grand Rapids to address "speculation about his plans to continue serving West Michigan."

Virg Bernero entered the race for governor of Michigan on Monday, staking himself as the remedy for "clueless leadership" about a block away from where he works as mayor of Lansing.

Bernero, son of an auto worker, is striking such a populist tone that it sounds as though he's running against everybody everywhere -- even his fellow Democrats.

"The clueless leadership at the State Capitol doesn't get it," Bernero says on his campaign Web site. "The so-called leaders in the Washington bubble don't get it either. And the Wall Street wizards who helped put us here definitely don't get it. We need a governor who will get up every day ready to fight for Michigan workers and families."

Gallup finds another reason for incumbents in Michigan, West Virginia, Nevada and Idaho to be worried this election year. Those four states sit at the bottom of the polling firm's 2009 Economic Confidence Index.

The sour economic outlook among the electorate in those four states is a part of the reason members such as Sen. Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and freshmen Reps. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Mark Schauer (D-Michigan) and Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) are among the most vulnerable Democrats in the country.

It also hasn't helped 14-term Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), who is facing a potentially competitive race for the first time since the 1980s.

Gallup's ranking is based on averaging of two measures -- one asking respondents to rate current economic conditions, and the other asking respondents to assess whether the economy is getting better or getting worse.

Gotta hand it to Rick Snyder, a Republican candidate for governor of Michigan. Snyder managed to set himself apart from both the pack in which he's running and from gubernatorial campaigns in 37 other states with an ad that ran on local channels during the Super Bowl.

Snyder uses the spot to argue that "It's time for a nerd" to lead the state:

Hat tip to Tim Skubick of WWJ.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) will seek re-election to his 1st district House seat rather than run for governor in 2010, a decision that no doubt elicited a sigh of relief from House Democrats.

Stupak, who was considering the governor's race after Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. John Cherry dropped out earlier this month, released a statement Tuesday in which he said he ultimately decided, "I can best serve the people of Michigan in the U.S. Congress."

"My seniority and experience in Congress, where I sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee and serve as chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, afford me a significant opportunity to affect positive change," he said.

A vacancy in the swing district would have set off another competitive race, putting Democrats on the defensive. Stupak's decision to stay should keep this seat comfortably in the Democrats' column.

The son of an Auschwitz survivor who's now running for Congress says he has removed the link to a Hitler video that someone posted to his Facebook campaign page.

Michigan candidate Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski, a Republican candidate in Michigan's 9th district, tells The Associated Press, "I don't find anything about Hitler humorous or funny."

"My mom was in Auschwitz, and my dad was in a Nazi labor camp," he said.

The link in question connected to a movie clip subtitled to make it appear as if Hitler is ranting about Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown's Senate victory, the AP reports.

Raczowski is vying for the Republican nomination in the Oakland County seat represented by Democratic Rep. Gary Peters.

CQ Politics rates that general election race Likely Democratic.

To follow all the 2010 House races, check out our election map.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), a key figure in the debate over abortion in the health care overhaul in Washington, D.C., is strongly considering a run for governor, prompting fears from Democratic leaders that his departure would open up another swing seat for Republicans' to target.

Stupak said Tuesday that he will be traveling across his state in the coming weeks to gauge support for a bid, but added that he wants to avoid a bloody primary. Stupak has noted in the past that his support for gun rights and opposition to abortion rights would make it difficult for him to win a statewide Democratic primary. But he said Tuesday that his independent streak could make him the strongest Democratic candidate in a difficult election environment this year.

"I may very well be the strongest candidate," he said, adding that there are three or four qualified candidates looking at running. "I would hope party leaders would get behind a candidate," he said. "We can't have a primary battle. A divisive primary would not be good."