Michigan Dems Eye Open House Seat

With the announcement by Michigan Democratic Rep. Gary Peters that he will seek the nomination to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Carl Levin in 2014, candidates are starting to eye Peter's now-open 14th District seat.

The first candidate out of the box was state House Democratic Leader Rudy Hobbs, who said last week he would relinquish his leadership position in the legislature to run for Congress in the heavily Democratic district.

And former Rep. Hansen Clarke is soon expected to launch a comeback bid. Clarke, the first congressman of Bangladeshi descent, saw much of his old Detroit-based district eliminated in the reapportionment process and was forced to run against Peters in 2012.

Also expected to get into the 14th District sweepstakes is Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, the 2010 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and third-place finisher in the House primary in which Peters and Clarke placed one-two.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.