Will Kit Bond leaving the Senate be the first of many from the GOP?

BE-ELECTED
by Chad Rubel

Feels like 2009, not 2010, yet there is a plethora of news this week on the 2010 Congressional races.

Chris Matthews (PA) and Jeb Bush (FL) aren't running. Kit Bond (R-MO) won't run for re-election. Arlen Specter (R-PA) raising his hand on the Eric Holder Attorney General nomination, an old lion trying to show he has some growl left in him for his own race.

One criticism of the 2008 presidential campaign was that it was too long. This critique may also apply to the 2010 races. Plus, we are likely to have three extra Senate races as a result of the incoming president/vice president/cabinet (Barack Obama's seat would have been up regardless in 2010), which only adds to the intrigue.

But if we are looking for a sign for 2010, announcing that you won't run isn't enough. Bond's announcement is huge. This was a seat that, despite the fact that Bond will be 71 in 2010, was his to lose. Now a swing state seat becomes a open seat.

When a party takes power, those in the opposition party tend to feel like it's not as much fun anymore. The Democrats now have a solid majority since Tuesday, and already we have one non-returner. The fun question to see is how many more GOP Senators will feel like they have had enough by 2010, and how early they tell us.