Nothing to worry about. I retire, the GOP will keep the seat. I'm at peace.
Looks like we've got another open race.
Former Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and current Rep. Spencer Bachus is throwing in the towel after serving 20 years as Congressman representing Alabama's 6th Congressional District.
http://www.miamiherald.com/...
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Alabama Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus says he won't seek re-election after his current term.
The 6th District congressman made the announcement during a live interview Monday on Birmingham, Ala., station WBRC-TV.
Bachus says he'll continue working hard for the remaining months of his term.
Here's a statement from Bachus:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
In a statement issued by his office, Bachus said “It has been the greatest privilege imaginable to serve as the representative of the people of Alabama in the United States House of Representatives. It is an honor that I never dreamed could have been possible for me and the words ‘thank you’ are far from adequate. But as Ecclesiastes 3 says, to everything there is a season and I feel in my heart that now is the time for me to announce this decision and allow others to have the opportunity to serve. This was a family decision, because my wife Linda, our five children, and our seven grandchildren have always been my biggest source of support, strength, and joy. Since I will continue to be the representative for the Sixth District until the end of my term, I do not consider today a ‘goodbye.’ There is much important work that remains to be done and what I would like to see above anything else before I leave is a spending reduction plan that will put the federal government on a sensible and sustainable financial path going forward.”
This therefore means that now it will be likely that quite a few run-of-the-mill Tea Party candidates will announce their candidacy soon, much like the nine Republicans who ran in the primary for the special election race in Alabama's 1st Congressional District.
By the way, in the AL-01 Special Election Race, there is a November 5th run-off going on among two GOP candidates while the Democratic Party has an official nominee for the Dec 17th election.
For the Democratic Party, while the retirement of Congressman Bachus does leave an open door, the AL-06 seat vacated by him might very well go to the GOP by default as the district is red, so red that the Cook Report has the PVI at a whopping R+28. In addition, the Alabama Democratic Party is facing serious headwinds and low morale so
Here are the 2012 election results in AL-06. Something to note, Bachus in 2012 received his first Democratic challenger since 1998. Shows how difficult the AL-06 district is for the Democratic Party.
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/...
And now the open primary race begins.
By the way, it's very interesting that there are two retiring men in Congress whose last names sound and nearly spell exactly the same:
Senator Max Baucus
Congressman Spencer Bachus