Having managed to burn bridges with both the left and the right in the recent health care debate, Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak has decided to call it a career and retire from the United States Congress.
Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, the congressman who led anti-abortion rights Democrats in the House during health care negotiations, will retire this year, CBS News has learned. He is expected to announce his plans later this morning.
Stupak's initial obstruction of, and eventual vote in favor of, the landmark HIR bill last month managed to put him in the unique position of being public enemy number one of both abortion-rights groups and the teabaggers simultaneously.
That said, an article in this morning's Detroit Free Press described Stupak as "at peace" with his health care vote, even as the Tea Party sent a bus tour through Stupak's district last night trying to rally support for his ouster.
Stupak's district, which is based in the northernmost reaches of the state of Michigan, is a classic swing district. While a number of the state legislators representing the district are Democrats, the district itself behaves slightly Republican in federal elections. Barack Obama barely carried the district (50-48) while dominating statewide in 2008. In 2004, George W. Bush carried the district by seven points (53-46).
Former Charlevoix County Commissioner Connie Saltonstall was already in for the Democrats, but will almost certainly have company, now that the seat is open. On the Republican side, there were already a quartet of Republicans in the field, but none that would be classified as top-tier candidates. That, too, is likely to change with the news that this is now an open seat contest.