Here’s the second installment of my weekly 2010 update, in which I list all the changes I have logged in during the week to the “retirement watch” and recruitment pages. Written in red are those politicians who announced their definite plans rather than simply expressed interest or stroke speculation.
This week, the biggest news are: Rep. Putnam’s surprise retirement from FL-12, Rep. Todd Thiart’s entry in the Kansas Senate race, Rep. Allen Boyd (FL-08) and Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN-04) announcing they will seek re-election rather than seek statewide office, and Attorney General Bill McCollum bowing out of the Florida Senate race.
In short, Democrats dodged a series of bullets this week. For one, FL-08 and TN-04 are both conservative districts they would have had a hard time holding had Boyd or Davis retired, Instead, it is the GOP that is left with an unexpected open seat in Florida. We should expect this pattern to continue over the months ahead, as House Democrats will find life in the majority enjoyable and House Republicans will look for a way out. The other bullet Democrats dodged is Bill McCollum; a recent poll suggested that he was very popular in the Sunshine State, so his entry in the Senate race would have been a boost for the GOP.
First, updates to Retirement Watch:
| Announced House retirement | Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL-12): will run for Agriculture Commissioner Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R- KS-04): will run for Senate |
| Removed from retirement watch (will run for re-election) | Rep. Allen Boyd (FL-02): bowed out of Senate run Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN-04): bowed out of gubernatorial run |
| Added to retirement watch | Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9): potential run for Senate Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-04): potential run for Governor Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR-02): potential run for Governor J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC-03): potential run for Governor |
Second, updates to the Senate recruitment page:
| CO, GOP (against Bennet) | former Rep. Scott McInnis ruled out run former U.S. Attorney Troy Eid is added to list (expressed interest) Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier is added to list former Treasurer Mark Hillman is added to list talk show host Dan Kaplis is added to list Attorney General John Suthers ruled out run |
| FL, Dems (open) | Rep. Allen Boyd ruled out run |
| FL, GOP (open) | Attorney General Bill McCollum ruled out run |
| IL, Dems (against Burris) | state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is added to list Rep. Jan Schalowsky is added to list (expressed interest) |
| KS, GOP (open) | Rep. Todd Tiahrt announced run |
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