LANSING- If you believe his critics, he's nothing more than a Republican party puppet -- a pharmaceutical industry lackey who doesn't care much for ordinary folks in his district.

If you believe his supporters, he's a friendly man who cares about the little guy and works hard to protect people's rights against bullies like the Department of Environmental Quality.

But both sides agree that Rep. Tim Moore is in for a fight.

The Farwell Republican is facing his first re-election bid this year after defeating Democratic Rep. Jennifer Elkins of Lake by just under 1,500 votes in 2004. While he won, Moore's district voted for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Democrats say the district is key to their hopes of regaining the House. Republicans hold 58 of the 110 seats to the Democrats' 49, with three formerly Democratic seats vacant. If Democrats keep all their seats they need to pick up only four seats to regain control.

In the Democratic corner in the district is 61-year-old David Schwab Sr. of Omer. Schwab is a former Millington village president and councilmember and retired Delphi Corp. and General Motors Corp. worker.

"He's just a people person. He listens. He's going to know those issues," said Gail Schmidt of Omer, Schwab's campaign treasurer. "He's going to truly represent the people and take those concerns down to Lansing, and that's not being done right now."

"Mr. Moore's kind of lost touch with his constituency," said Gladwin County Democratic party activist Dennis Carl.

But House Republicans call Moore effective and say they're looking to give him a committee chair when he comes back to Lansing for a second term in January.

"The voice of the 97th District has never been stronger," House Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, said earlier this spring.

Moore said he led the fight to boost state aid for schools in Clare, Gladwin, Arenac and Bay counties by reducing the funding gap among school districts. Moore also said his time as a small-business owner has aided his decision-making.

"The experience I've brought has served me well," Moore said.

But Schmidt said Moore's claims of success ring hollow.

"I guess we need to ask the people in the 97th District," Schmidt said. "What's he done?"

In this hotly contested district, rated a "toss-up" by the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter, both parties will solicit votes with heavy outside support.

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, will join DeRoche and Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelenau, in campaigning for Moore, while Democrats say they have commitments from U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, and House Minority Leader Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga.

Moore is likely to out spend Schwab, both parties say. Moore raised almost $290,000 for his 2004 campaign, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. Campaign finance statements show he has more than $40,000 cash on hand. Schwab said he expects to raise $125,000.

Moore and Schwab both said they will knock on doors and talk about the issues. Schwab said he plans to keep the campaign clean, but said if the Moore camp lies, he's prepared to defend himself.

"I think it's great to keep the campaign clean," Moore said, adding that he has his doubts because "the rhetoric never died since the last campaign."

And if history repeats itself, it's going to get ugly.

The 2004 election was marred by accusations of dirty tricks, and Democrats say they expect Moore to appeal to the lowest common denominator. They cite a radio commercial that asked Elkins what she did with the body parts of babies killed by partial-birth abortion.

"Last time they made Elkins sound like some painted whore," Schmidt said. "They just went out there and lied."

But Moore said he had no control over that commercial and rested his campaign criticisms on her record. "Everything we did was based on her actual votes," Moore said.