There is news from everywhere about Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce's (OH-15) decision to not seek re-election.
Forbes:
U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, once the most powerful Republican woman in Congress but nearly a casualty of the 2006 Democratic surge, said Thursday she would not seek a ninth term.
The announcement confirmed reports of Pryce's departure and set both parties scrambling to replace her in one of the most competitive districts in the country.....
....Democrats are backing Mary Jo Kilroy, a Franklin County commissioner who lost to Pryce last year by 1,062 votes out of 220,000 cast. A re-count delayed the outcome for weeks.....
.....Her departure will be a loss for financial services companies and insurers based in the Buckeye State, coming as it does on the heels of the retirement of the committee’s former chairman, Republican Michael G. Oxley of Ohio (1981-2007). Paul E. Gillmoor, R-Ohio, will continue as ranking Republican on the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee. But Pryce’s successor on her subcommittee will probably not be from Ohio. An aide to Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio, said he would be active on Financial Services but would likely remain focused on his present job, as ranking Republican on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a role important for his constituents in the Cleveland area.
Ohio’s 15th District, which takes in western Columbus and some suburbs of Ohio’s capital city, presents a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats.
In the 2004 election, the 15th broke about evenly between President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry. But Bush was more popular then than he is today, and the Democrats made major inroads in the 2006 election, nearly toppling Pryce......
What really forced her to make this decision not to run? Did she do some early polling and get scared? Was her unrelenting support of Bush's Iraq war creating unwanted pressure from her constituents? Whatever her reasons, Democrats now have a real chance to gain a seat.
Update: Local news covered Pryce's announcement today. One of the reasons that Pryce gave for not seeking another term had to do with the House of Representatives new work schedule. The Democratic House majority had sessions Monday through Friday as opposed to the formerly Republican controlled House that would meet only Tuesday through Thursday. Does this mean Republicans don't like to work as hard as Democrats?