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Michigan gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer, as seen in this 2010 file photo.

(AP File Photo)

LANSING, MI -- It's official: Former Congressman Mark Schauer is running for Michigan governor.

The Battle Creek Democrat announced his candidacy online Tuesday and filed paperwork with the Michigan Secretary of State establishing a candidate committee, Mark Schauer for Governor, which will allow him to begin raising funds as he seeks the party nomination in 2014.

He's the first Democrat to declare for the race and is the clear party favorite to challenge first-term Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who has not yet confirmed his own re-election plans but is widely expected to run.

"We need a governor who will protect the middle class and invest in education to create good jobs for Michigan workers," Schauer said in a released statement, reiterating his earlier posts on Facebook and Twitter. "Rick Snyder has taken our state in the wrong direction. Snyder's school cuts and higher taxes on seniors and working families are hurting Michigan’s economy.

"Today I'm taking the first steps to form a campaign for governor. I'm ready to run, I'm ready to work, and I'm ready to win in 2014. It's time to build an economy that works for everyone, not just the special interests."

Schauer will address Macomb County Democrats Tuesday night before heading up to the annual Mackinac Policy Conference, where he could cross paths with Snyder, who will open the conference on Wednesday and deliver a keynote address on Friday.

While he has not yet finalized his team, Schauer is expected to reunite with BJ Niedhardt, who ran his successful 2008 Congressional campaign, and Zach Pohl of Progress Michigan, who previously worked as his press secretary and campaign communications director. Former Chief of Staff Ken Brock is already serving as a top advisor.

Schauer served in the state legislature for 12 years and the U.S. House of Representatives for two years before losing his re-election bid in 2010. He currently works as a business development representative for the Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust Fund and has spent the past several months meeting with party leaders and residents across the state.

Michigan Congressional Democrats, many of whom he worked with in Washington D.C., sent a letter to Schauer last week urging him to run and pledging their support. So did state Rep. Vicki Barnett, who joined a handful of potential Democratic candidates who have backed Schauer rather than launching their own campaigns.

Former U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, Michigan Board of Education President John Austin, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer and others have also endorsed Schauer in recent weeks, setting him up for an unopposed run in the Democratic primary, which would allow him to focus on what is sure to be an expensive general election.

TJ Bucholz, a Democratic consultant and director in the public affairs practice at Lambert, Edwards & Associates, credited new party Chairman Lon Johnson for rallying Michigan Democrats around two "very strong" statewide candidates in Schauer and U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Carl Levin in 2014.

"Mark Schauer is a worker," Bucholz said. "He's good at doing the things you need to do to be successful. Anybody can put an ad up on television, but he's good at fundraising and the field-level work that many Democrats are not as polished on. Primaries can be incredibly expensive. Avoiding that is a huge advantage for Democrats, and they're going to need it if they want to unseat an incumbent governor."

Snyder's approval ratings took a hit late last year after he signed controversial right-to-work legislation into law and they have yet to rebound, but November 2014 is a long way off, and history is on his side: No Republican incumbent has lost a gubernatorial election in Michigan since 1948.

A spokesperson recently told MLive that Snyder "is focused on sound policy, not politics" as he works to continue Michigan's economic comeback. He does not have a firm timeline for announcing his own re-election plans.

Snyder's campaign committee remains active and, as of the beginning of the year, had a balance of more than $828,000. Rick Snyder For Michigan spent more than $12 million leading up to the Republican primary and general election in 2010, according to Secretary of State records, including more than $6 million that Snyder and his wife personally loaned the campaign.

Stu Sandler, a GOP consultant for Decider Strategies, said that Schauer will present voters a very clear choice between Snyder, but he said the comparison will not be flattering for the Democrat, who served as state Senate minority leader during "one of the worst times in Michigan's economy" and voted for controversial stimulus and health care bills while in Congress.

"I think it makes a very easy contrast for Governor Snyder," Sandler said. "Do you want to turn back the clock in Michigan to Schauer Hour, where you used to have a bloated budget, accounting gimmicks, mathematical mismanagement and the Michigan Business Tax? And Mark Schauer in Congress increased spending outrageously with the stimulus and voted for Obamacare."

A series of recent polls have suggested that Snyder could be vulnerable to a challenge. An EPIC-MRA poll of 600 likely voters conducted earlier this month showed Snyder and Schauer in a dead heat, even though 61 percent of respondents said they did not know who the Democrat was.

Schauer was born and raised in Howell, where he attended public schools before earning degrees at Albion College, Western Michigan and Michigan State University. He was a Battle Creek City Commissioner before being elected to the state House and state Senate, where he served as Democratic leader after winning re-election in 2006.

In 2008, Schauer narrowly defeated first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg to earn a seat in the 111th Congress. Walberg returned the favor two years later, winning a rematch largely defined by the new federal health care law, which Schauer voted for.

He sat out the 2012 election cycle but returned to the public spotlight late in the year as a vocal right-to-work opponent. He was among the estimated 11,000 demonstrators who gathered at the state Capitol on December 11, and he was among a handful of protesters who were pepper-sprayed outside the building.

Update: This post was updated to include an official statement from Schauer. It previously referenced similar statements he made on Facebook and Twitter.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.