Via Political Wire from Politico:
Sen. Kit Bond, the senior Republican from Missouri who sits on powerful Senate committees, announced Thursday that he will not run for reelection in 2010, giving Democrats a shot to pick up a seat in a state that has emerged as a major battleground.
The announcement is a blow to Senate Republicans who now will have at least four of their incumbents seeking retirement at the end of the session, a sign that 2010 could be another tough cycle for the weakened GOP minority.
In addition to Bond, Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida and Sam Brownback of Kansas are retiring, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas may run for governor of her home state, creating another opening.
Do it Robin, do it! 🙂
It was only last year that Bond was boasting about running for another term. I hope this pattern of really old GOP incumbents announcing that they’ll run for reelection suddenly deciding to retire will continue, preferably in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
That’s a megaton announcement. Definately a top-tier pickup opportunity. I really didn’t see this coming.