Another Senator has decided not to run for re-election in 2012, as veteran Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka will hang up his legislative cleats.
Akaka, whose name is uttered by the Senate reading clerks more than any - because he has been first on the alphabetical list for years - came to the Senate in 1990, replacing the late Spark Matsunaga.
His departure means that 7 Senators have now announced their retirement - 4 Democrats, 2 Republicans and one Indpendent who leans to the Democratic side.
The Hawaii seat should still favor the Democrats, especially with Barack Obama at the top of the ballot next year.
But Democrats don't hold the edge overall.
The other seats in play include:
* Connecticut - Democrats are favored to keep Joe Lieberman's seat * Texas - Republicans are favored for Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat * Arizona - seat of John Kyl leans to the GOP * New Mexico - tough seat for Democrats to defend (Bingaman) * Virginia - another not easy for Dems to keep (Webb) * North Dakota - almost in the GOP column already (Conrad)
For those wondering, there are already three members of the House who are not running in 2012 - as all three have already declared their candidacies for the U.S. Senate.
* Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) is running in Montana * Rep. Jeff Flake (R) will run in Arizona * Rep. Chris Murphy (D) is running in Connecticut
House retirements typically start much later than Senate changes, because of the lead time needed to run a statewide campaign versus one that is focused on a single House district.
Even before we get to 2012, there are already two special elections on the board in the House, one for the seat of ex-Rep. Chris Lee (the Republican who was trolling for chicks on Craigslist) and ex-Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who just resigned to run an independent think tank.
Right now, the GOP has a very good chance to take over the Senate. But the elections are still 20 months away.
