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In February, I came up with a list (scroll down) of Republican members of Congress whose districts were won by the president in 2008, putting them in varying degrees of political jeopardy. Let's see what the Obama Republicans are up to these days...
- Senator Arlen Spector: Became a Democrat.
- Senator Judd Gregg: Nearly joined Obama's Cabinet; now hitting the president hard on his budget plans. Will
face a tough challenge inretire in 2010; Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes is the top challenger for the seat. - Senator Richard Burr: Early polling says his seat is in jeopardy, with State Attorney General Roy Cooper edging him out.
- Senator Olympia Snowe: Writing op-eds about how she doesn't understand the Republican Party anymore.
- Senator George Voinovich: Retiring.
- Congressman Thomas Petri: Issued an approving one-hundred days statement saying the president is doing "fairly well."
- Congressman Jim Gerlach: Apparently thinking of challenging former Congressman Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania's Senate primary as the "moderate Republican who could win the state."
- Congressman Frank Lobiondo: One of three Republicans to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act in the House.
- 29 Republican members of Congress in Obama districts: Being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
To be sure, some of these decisions reflect other underlying demographic trends and shifts in the various party coalitions, but I think they cumulatively show some of the changes Obama's election has brought to our political system. And these examples are just what I remember off the top of my head. Do you see anyone else on this list making interesting moves?
-- Tim Fernholz
