The list of House Republicans who may retire in 2008 is an expansive one, indeed. One name that I've heard a substantial amount of buzz surrounding is Rep. Dave Hobson of Ohio's 7th. Unverified rumors claim that he will likely retire, but one local blogger is already calling it a done deal:
Ohio 7th District Congressman Dave Hobson will not seek re-election to a 10th term in the U.S. Congress.
The much expected retirement of Cong. Hobson has not been formally announced even though State Senator Steve Austria (Hobson’s hand picked successor) is already preparing for a Congressional campaign and at least two Repuiblicans are lining up for Austria’s Ohio State Senate seat.
With a PVI of R+6, Ohio’s 7th has a pronounced Republican lean. It twice supported Bush by a 14-point margin (56-42 and 57-43, respectively), but much has changed since 2004 in national and state politics since 2004. I expect a good number of lean-Republican seats to come open in 2008 (Hastert in IL-14, LaHood in IL-18, and Regula in OH-16 for instance). If Van Hollen can deliver some solid recruits, I suspect that we may be able to pick up a couple.
(H/T: Buckeye State Blog)
Does this item mean that the rumor that circulated last December, namely that former Senator Mike Dewine was flirting with the idea of running for his old House seat, came to nothing? Has DeWine settled into some alternative new career? I haven’t heard anything about him at all, since the voters sent him home, other than that December rumor.