The spate of high-profile Democratic retirement announcements over the past day, by veteran Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Byron Dorgan (N.D.) and by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, have produced spin from the two major parties that, as usual, contains a dollop of truth seasoned by hyperbole.
Republicans contend Democrats are “running for the hills.” They argue that an increasing number of Democratic incumbents see their party hurtling toward disaster in November because the public is turning against policies pursued by President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev).
The GOP already has claimed a one-seat gain with the Dec. 22 party switch by freshman Rep. Parker Griffith, elected as a Democrat in Alabama’s strongly conservative-leaning 5th district. Griffith cited opposition to the legislative agenda of the Democratic majority as his motivation for crossing the aisle.
Yet even with the spate of House Democratic retirement decisions late in the fall, and the headline-making bow-outs by Dodd and Dorgan revealed Tuesday, the image of Democrats racing each other to the lifeboats is, at this point at least, still a stretch.
There still are more House Republicans (14) who are not seeking re-election — either retiring or running for other office — than Democrats (10). Dorgan and Dodd are the first elected Democratic Senators to eschew re-election bids; even when you add in two 2009 appointees who are not running in November’s elections — Illinois’ Roland Burris and Delaware’s Ted Kaufman — the Democrats still are two up on the six seats left open by Republican Sens. Kit Bond (Mo.), Jim Bunning (Ky.), Judd Gregg (N.H.), George Voinovich (Ohio), Sam Brownback (Kan.) and appointee George LeMieux (Fla.).
Departure Parity
While all four of the open Democratic Senate seats will be heavily targeted by Republicans, Democrats are expected to run strong campaigns for five of the six GOP open seats (with Kansas being the exception).
Democrats, for their part, are adamant that retirements are part of every election cycle, and that theirs have just tended to come in clutches. Four House Democrats announced their retirements in a three-week period, between Nov. 23 and Dec. 14. And the nearly simultaneous Senate retirements announced Tuesday were bound to grab attention.
Of this week’s events, the only one that is a clear setback for the Democrats is Dorgan’s unexpected dropout. His departure opens a seat in Republican-leaning North Dakota and makes it much more likely that the GOP will succeed in drawing a Senate bid by popular three-term Gov. John Hoeven.
But Democrats view Dodd’s withdrawal in Connecticut as a boost in their efforts to hold the seat. Though unbeatable in his previous Senate contests since 1980, Dodd’s popularity unraveled over the past two years — mostly because of his ill-fated decision to run for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and the onset of the nation’s financial crisis that focused attention on Dodd’s role as Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs chairman.
Dodd will be replaced at the top of the Democratic ticket by longtime state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose epic approval ratings appear to have restored the party’s edge in a race that appeared to be slipping away from them.
Ritter’s retirement as Colorado governor may be a partisan wash. Like many top state officeholders, Ritter has been beleaguered by budget problems exacerbated by the national recession, and a fresh face may have as good a chance or better of holding the seat.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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