20070817 “Retirement Wave Building Among House Republicans” by Congressional Quarterly

“Retirement Wave Building Among House Republicans” by Congressional Quarterly

September 4^th, 2007 – Researching different dynamics of the 2008 elections, I recently came across an article in the Congressional Quarterly that helped lay out some of the challenges… Writing for the Congressional Quarterly, Greg Giroux reports that five House Republicans have recently announced their retirement from office – and not seeking re-election…

Retirement ‘Wave’ Building Among House Republicans?

Congressional Quarterly

By Greg Giroux | 3:45 PM; Aug. 17, 2007 |

The announcement Friday by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., that he will not seek re-election in 2008 capped a week in which three veteran House Republicans in a 24-hour span declared that the current 110th Congress would be their last.

Hastert’s announcement — coupled with similar ones Thursday by Ohio Rep. Deborah Pryce and Mississippi Rep. Charles W. “Chip” Pickering Jr. — brought to five the number of House Republicans who are not seeking re-election next year, compared with two on the Democratic side.

While nearly 15 months remain until the November 2008 election, the retirement decisions of Hastert, Pryce and Pickering will stoke speculation of a larger “wave” of GOP departures that would seriously hamper the party’s quest to make the 16-seat gain that they need to regain the House majority they lost last November.

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Read the rest of the article here: Retirement ‘Wave’ Building Among House Republicans?