Congressman Bart Gordon drops a bombshell:
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) will retire after 13 terms, he announced today in a press release, becoming the 4th Dem in a potentially competitive district to step down in the past 4 weeks.
First elected in 1984, Gordon had a solid hold on his seat, winning his past 5 re-election bids with more than 60% of the vote; his office said he has never lost any of the 15 counties he represents. He is stepping down, he said, after re-evaluating his future.
"When I was elected, I was the youngest member of the Tennessee congressional delegation; now, I'm one of the oldest. In fact, I have members of my staff who weren't even born when I took office. That tells me it's time for a new chapter," Gordon said in a statement.
Ironically, less than 24 hours ago, I wrote the following:
When the Republicans had their tsunami election in 1994, and when the Democrats rode waves of their own in 2006 and 2008, it was largely driven by huge margins run up in open seats.
If a flurry of Democratic retirements in less-than-amenable territory are announced in the next two months, then the "Dems are Doomed" crowd in the media will see justification for their messages of concern.
This district is the reddest of the four districts left vacant over the past month, with John McCain thumping President Obama by twenty-five points here (62-37). Republicans already had a first-tier candidate sniffing the race in the form of state Senator Jim Tracy. Today's news has, according to the Hill, officially pushed Tracy into the race. He will almost certainly have serious company in the GOP primary.
Democrats, according to Reid Wilson at the Hotline, have a handful of state legislators within the district boundaries t, and also have several county officials that could conceivably file for the seat.
Overall, Gordon becomes the 22nd member of the House to announce that he/she will not seek re-election in 2010. Of the nearly two dozen retirees and aspirants for higher office, they are nearly evenly split by party (12 R/10 D).