Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) has decided to retire rather than seek re-election in 2010. This is one of those seats that’s probably safe in the hands of the incumbent, but potentially up for grabs as an open seat. Dave Weigel observes that the leading candidates will be Secretary of State Robin Carnahan on the Democratic side and Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, the only non-Bond GOP statewide official. There are also a passel of House Republicans who could make a play for the seat.
Of course a big factor here is going to be how things look in 2010. John McCain carried Missouri very narrowly last fall. Extrapolating from Barack Obama’s large “transition bounce” you’ve got to figure he’s pretty popular in the state right now and a Democrat would have good chances. If there are clear signs of a recovery by 2010, that’ll still be the case but if we’re in economic doldrums not so much.
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