More information about the candidates in this race is available at MI Vote.org.

Republican voters in Michigan's Seventh Congressional District are about to choose a challenger to take on first-term incumbent Democrat Mark Schauer. The race is likely to be one of the most closely watched in the country. The candidates running in the GOP primary are former congressman Tim Walberg, Brian Rooney and Marvin Carlson. They're pretty close on the issues. And as Gretchen Millich at WKAR in East Lansing reports for the Michigan Public Radio Network, that's making it hard for voters to make up their minds:

When the tiny town of Bronson celebrated its Polish Festival earlier this month, Phil Lindner had a front row seat for the parade. Here, most people like their beer cold and their politics conservative. Like many in Bronson, Lindner intends to vote in the GOP primary.

"I'm looking for honesty and old-fashioned values.  I'm old-fashioned enough to     believe in God.

[Voice in background]: "Pro-life, amen. Oh, here's Tim Walberg."

Tim Walberg is a familiar face in these parts. This is the fourth time he's run for this congressional seat. He won in 2006 and served in Washington until he was narrowly defeated in 2008 by Democrat Mark Schauer. Walberg's walking in the parade, leading what he calls his "Orange Crush": volunteers and supporters all wearing bright orange t-shirts.

[Spectator] "Hey, Tim, how ya doin'?"

[Walberg] "I'm doin' well." 

[Spectator] "I've still got your old sign. I'm going to get it out of the attic."

Lindner voted for Walberg in 2006 and again in 2008. But this year, Lindner doesn't know who he'll vote for, but he knows some of his friends are backing Brian Rooney. Rooney is newcomer to politics, and to Michigan. He moved here a couple of years ago to work as a constitutional attorney for the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative law firm in Ann Arbor. He's an Iraq war veteran and part of the Rooney family that owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. Political analyst Bill Ballenger thinks Rooney may emerge as the popular favorite:   

"There's kind of a whispering campaign or an undercurrent all during this year that Rooney is a fresher face, he's younger, and he might be a better general election candidate against Schauer than Walberg would be because Walberg has been around the track so many times and people think, you know, he's been voted out of office, let's give somebody else a chance. There's that feeling."

Rooney is also in the parade and offers the customary Polish greeting 

"Jak sie masz!"

He stops to have his picture taken with Marcey Kosachuk of Coldwater. Kosachuk voted for Walberg last time, but now she's supporting Rooney and says more and more people she knows are making the switch. 

"Because he's a constitutional lawyer. At a time when they're tearing our constitution apart I think we need a constitutional lawyer to bring some sense to what's going on up there."

Marvin Carlson is not in the parade. This is the first time he's run for office and polling shows he has only about 6 per cent of the vote. Carlson has a background in investments in housing and commercial property in Ann Arbor. He says he's the only candidate in the race who has actually created jobs. The Polish Festival wraps up with a bowling tournament at the Bronson Strike Zone. Karole Baker head's the Bronson Bowling Association. Baker hasn't decided whether she'll vote in the Republican primary. She's an independent.

[Baker] "If I think a Republican will do better, I'll vote for a Republican or a Democrat or an independent or a Green."

[Millich] "And who did you vote for last time for Congress?"  

[Baker] "Mark Schauer."

[Millich] "So you might vote for a Republican this time?"

[Baker] "Could be."

Baker is just the kind of voter Republicans are counting on to give them the edge in November. After Tuesday, the GOP ticket will have its nominee: Carlson, the businessman, Rooney, the Iraq war veteran; or Walberg, the ousted one-term congressman looking to get back in. A Walberg victory would set up a re-match spurring one of the biggest political showdowns in the country. For the Michigan Public Radio Network, this is Gretchen Millich.