First it looked like he would, then like he wouldn’t… but now it’s a done deal. Roll Call:
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who led a key group of anti-abortion-rights House Democrats that helped secure passage of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, told the Associated Press that he will announce his retirement later Friday.
Stupak said he wants to spend more time with his family and start a new career after 18 years in Congress, and he will announce his retirement Friday afternoon at Northern Michigan University, the AP reported.
Stupak’s full statement is available here. In the diaries, Menhen recently took a look at some possible Stupak successors — it’s well worth a read.
UPDATE: With Stupak’s retirement, we’re adding MI-01 to our list of competitive House races, at “Tossup.”
UPDATE: At his news conference this afternoon where he confirmed his retirement, Stupak stopped short of an explicit announcement, but he gave a shout-out to conservative Democratic state Rep. Mike Lahti, who’s been on most people’s short lists of possible replacements:
“A lot of people could do it,” Stupak told a reporter when asked if Democratic candidate could win the seat. “People like Mike Lahti would do a great job.”
RaceTracker Wiki: MI-01
I am not confident we will keep this seat.
That being said, I know we will field a good candidate.
Does the GOP have any top tier options?
My law student friends and I (who all dislike Bart Stupak, them from the left and me from the right) love to make fun of the fact that Bart Stupak went to Cooley Law School, the most brazenly awful law school in the country. They build a massive library and used that to claim that they’re almost as prestigious as Yale, despite the fact that they’ll admit people who don’t have a college degree.
So that’s about all you really need to know about Bart Stupak- he went to Cooley.
I wonder if her’s thinking of running for governor. probably not this year, but down the road. just not the senate because A it doesn’t solve his “I never get to see my family problem” and B: in a state like michigan we can get a pro-choice dem if one of the current senators were to retire.
Suckiness.
Excellent candidate, and he would be a lightning rod for the lunatic extremists to attack, in a state where that lunacy will not play well against an established moderate.
He’d be a great Governor, and would instantly be the frontrunner.