| With filing deadlines passing in many states, the House Open Seat Watch series is beginning to come to an end. That said, we've seen quite a bit of action since our last installment in January, so it's well past time for another, perhaps final, update.
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 a whopping 13 new open seats on the big board -- seven of them Democratic, six of them Republican. Sadly, though, the only competitive races we'll likely see from this fresh batch of opens will come on Democratic-held turf (unless Dems can convince Joe Garcia to give FL-25 another crack).
Our list of potential retirements has been whittled down considerably with 14 incumbents dropping off the watch list. We've added only Jason Altmire and Mike Arcuri, who have attracted potential primary opponents for their recent votes against healthcare reform. (UPDATE: And Carolyn Maloney, too, due to her challenge from unabashed Wall Street Democrat Reshma Saujani.)
Potential Retirements/Vacancies:
A list of incumbents whose names we've removed from the Open Seat Watch is available below the fold. |
