The front page of today’s Roll Call features Shira Toeplitz’s report from the ground in Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio, on the Democratic primary between Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich. Their March 6 contest will be the first of 12 Member-vs.-Member races decided this redistricting cycle.

The numbers in the redrawn 9th district, which stretches 120 miles along Lake Erie’s shoreline, favor Kaptur over Kucinich because it takes in more of her current territory. But, as Toeplitz points out, long odds have never stopped the two-time failed presidential candidate and one-time “boy mayor” of Cleveland from running before.

(Side note: If you do one thing, be sure you click through the slideshow of Roll Call photog Tom Williams‘ awesome photos from Ohio.)

“This is a contest, and I think one must be optimistic but at the same time cautious about the outcome. I don’t know how this is going to turn out,” Kucinich says.

Member-vs.-Member races are unique animals. They happen only every 10 years and can create very uncomfortable situations within state delegations and party caucuses — forcing colleagues, friends and sometimes members of leadership to choose sides.

The 12th such race emerged last week when it was confirmed that GOP Reps. John Mica and Sandy Adams are headed for a face-off in Florida’s redrawn 7th district. If the race does in fact materialize, it would be among the last intra-Member primaries to be decided this year, on Aug. 14.

New York is the last major piece still missing from the redistricting puzzle, and when new lines there are finalized we may see one or two more contests featuring two current lawmakers. Already there are four more contests where two Members are squaring off than there were in the last redistricting cycle of 2002. That year there were eight Member-vs.-Member races, four of which were primaries.

Here is a list of the Member-vs.-Member races expected thus far in 2012. Click here to see where everyone stood financially at the end of 2011.

        District                               Members                                                                    Primary

• Arizona’s 6th                    Ben Quayle (R) vs. David Schweikert (R)                   Aug. 28

• California’s 30th             Howard Berman (D) vs. Brad Sherman (D)                  June 5*

• California’s 44th             Janice Hahn (D) vs. Laura Richardson (D)                   June 5*

• Florida’s 7th                      Sandy Adams (R) vs. John Mica (R)                           Aug. 14

• Illinois’ 16th                      Adam Kinzinger (R) vs. Don Manzullo (R)                   March 20

• Iowa’s 3rd                          Leonard Boswell (D) vs. Tom Latham (R)

• Louisiana’s 3rd                Charles Boustany (R) vs. Jeff Landry (R)                       Nov. 6

• Michigan’s 14th                Hansen Clarke (D) vs. Gary Peters (D)                          Aug. 7

• New Jersey’s 9th              Bill Pascrell (D) vs. Steve Rothman (D)                         June 5

• Ohio’s 9th                            Marcy Kaptur (D) vs. Dennis Kucinich (D)                   March 6

• Ohio’s 16th                          Jim Renacci (R) vs. Betty Sutton (D)

• Pennsylvania’s 12th         Jason Altmire (D) vs. Mark Critz (D)                             April 24

* The top two finishers in the jungle all-party primary advance to the November election.