Another Dem senator won't seek re-election
WASHINGTON - Monday's stunning announcement by Sen. Evan Bayh that he's retiring from a Congress he says he no longer loves makes him the latest to flee Washington as many voters seem furious about the country's economic malaise and poised to take it out on incumbents.
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The decision by the Indiana Democrat, who was in strong position to win a third term in November, gives Republicans a formidable chance to capture the seat in his GOP-leaning state. It also compounds the problems facing Senate Democrats this fall as they cling to their majority in the chamber, where they now hold 59 of the 100 votes.
Bayh joins a growing roster of recent Democratic retirements that includes Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island and Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota. Yet the congressional casualty list has a decidedly bipartisan flavor, with recent retirement announcements coming from Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and other GOP House members from Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas and Arizona.
"Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you've probably had some very nasty town hall meetings lately, and most normal human beings don't enjoy being yelled at," said Jack Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont-McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. "Democrats stand to lose more than Republicans because they're the in party, but Republicans are catching some of this, too."
Democrats have a 255-178 edge in the House, with two vacancies from Democratic-h
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