| It's been over two months since we last took stock of the open seat situation in the House, and a lot has happened since then. So, once again, our crack team of open seat forensic analysts down at SSP Labs have put together a new edition of the 2010 House Open Seat Watch.
As always, we've compiled three separate lists: one of confirmed vacancies/retirements, another of potential open seats, and a third - available below the fold - of names that have dropped off the watch list. As always, please note that "age" in our charts reflects the incumbent's age on election day, 2010. Blue boxes indicate a new entry (or an incumbent who has been shuffled between categories). All tables are sortable - just click on any column header to sort.
Definite Retirements/Vacancies:
We've got eight new additions to our big board of House retirements and vacancies, five of them Democratic, and three Republican. We've also had one subtraction, from GOP Rep. Jim Gerlach -- although since he still technically has a primary challenger, he's staying on the watch list for now.
What's notable is that, just two months ago, we had zero "true" retirements (as opposed to attempts to seek higher office), and now we have exactly eight members saying goodbye to elected office in 2011. Of the twelve Democratic-held open seats, Republicans have a chance of winning all but AL-07, FL-17, and FL-19. On the other hand, I think I count about two and a half legitimate pick-up opportunities for Democrats among the R-held seats up for grabs.
Meanwhile, eight new names are added to our watch list, and 11 have come off:
Potential Retirements/Vacancies:
A list of incumbents whose names we've removed from the Open Seat Watch is available below the fold. |
