Arkansas Senator won't seek reelection

On January 5th, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, said the following:

This month will be critical in determining what direction the open-seat landscape is headed. Will a series of Democratic lawmakers -- fresh from conversations with their families and nervous about the political environment -- decide to step aside? (Keep an eye on such congressmen as Leonard L. Boswell of Iowa and Vic Snyder of Arkansas for an early indication of which way the wind is blowing.) And would those departures prompt even more lawmakers to consider leaving on their own terms?

If that happens, an election cycle that looked like a traditional midterm round for Democrats, with losses in the 20-seat range, could become one in which control of the House is up for grabs. 

Cillizza's guess that Snyder might suddenly find family more important than politics has proven true.

Snyder, deciding to spend time with his wife, three-year-old son and one-year-old triplets, has decided not to seek re-election. Cilizza also points out that more Republicans than Democrats are retiring. This is true, but the Democrats are quickly catching up.

Comments

[KB]

Another great post, Miranda. Since you returned to posting, our numbers have surged to over a thousand a day. Maybe I should retire.

I note that the reasons that Republicans are retiring are different from those that motivate Democrats. A lot of the former figure that this is a good time to get out because they are likely to be replaced by another Republican. A lot of the latter figure that they can't win. Vic Snyder is in a district that went for John McCain by ten points. He is behind his likely opponent by 17 points. Discretion is the better part of valor.

[Miranda]

Also, I can spin straw into gold! On a more serious note, I think American politics has just been irresistibly interesting in the last couple of weeks.

How many of the retiring Republicans would you say are likely to be replaced by other Republicans?

[KB]

At the present rate, nearly all of them. Not long ago I heard a lot about Republicans in trouble. That talk seems to have dried completely up.