Radanovich retiring

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Politico

Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.) will be announcing this afternoon today that he won’t be seeking re-election, according to a senior GOP source.

His chief of staff, Ted Maness, told POLITICO the congressman would be releasing a statement at 2:00 EST, but declined to confirm that he’ll be retiring.

Radanovich is also expected to endorse state senator Jeff Denham, a former lieutenant governor candidate, to become his successor.

Radanovich becomes the 13th House Republican not to seek re-election to the House, but the first to step down without seeking statewide office. He was first elected to Congress in 1994, and has never had trouble holding onto his seat.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1209/Radanovich_retiring.html?showall

[Auggie]

1. Will the 19th elect another Republican?

[Brother Buzz]

2. It's an uphill slog for the Democrats

The Democrats did not even bother fielding a candidate in the 2008 race. I hope a dynamic Democrat surfaces and makes a run for the seat.

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. 2008 was a much better year for Democrats than 2010 is likely to be

There are likely other districts where resources can be better used.

[Brother Buzz]

4. I don't disagree but...

an open seat is an open seat, and an opportunely to flip it should not be ignored. I believe the right person could make a horse race out of it without spending obscene amounts of money. Winning is another tale.

[mackerel]

5. I doubt he would step down unless the Reps had a viable

candidate to run in his stead. The Fresno area is full of Dems but is one strong enough to run that I don't know.

Does anyone know the inside scoop as to why he's stepping down?

[Brother Buzz]

6. Wife has ovarian cancer and he wants to spend time with family

"As many already know, Ethie has been valiantly fighting ovarian cancer for nearly three years. My family needs me, and I intend to be by their side to win this battle,” Radanovich said. "It is for this reason that I have decided to not seek reelection to Congress in 2010.”

The ass actually has a valid reason for retiring. The republicans have TWO viable candidates. The Democrats just need one.

[padia]

7. there are a few declared Dems

Les Marsden is the most viable Dem there is another lady that is on the Madera school board she also holds a MD & a JD but I am not recalling her name at this point. The 19th district shows it to be 37D:44R on the 5-4-09 posting of the Sec. of State. Since then Fresno has cut its numbers in half, actually Fresno County as of 12-28-09 is @ a 468 repug advantage, Cal-Voter has been responsible for most of that work. On saturday 1-16-10 we will be doing a canvass to do voter registration specifically in the 19th. The repugs that are starting to come forward have started the he is not conservative enough crap among themselves.

[KamaAina]

8. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the 19th...

(cue Jaws theme...)

...comes... POMBO!!! (doodle-a-DOO!)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=54558&tsp=1

Former seven-term Congressman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, is back -- or at least he wants to be. The former chair of the House Resources Committee -- and the Sierra Club's worst nightmare -- plans to announce Tuesday that he's going to run for Congress again. No, not in the Tracy-area district he served for seven terms, but in the neighboring, deeper-in-the-Valley seat now occupied by GOPper Rep. George Radanovich, who is resigning to take care of his ailing wife....

Now, a brief refresher on Pombo. Elected to Congress in 1992, he routinely pounded his Dem opponents, often getting around 60 percent of the vote, despite serving in a Democratic-friendly district that was a mishmash of suburban Bay Area and Central Valley. But in 2006, he was the only incumbent Californian to lose his seat.

How? With the joint help of the liberal netroots, tons of volunteers from the Bay Area and enviro activists, Pombo was tossed from his seat in 2006 by newbie Dem Jerry McNerney. He was pilloried for his environmental record -- the League of Conservation Voters named him one of their Dirty Dozen (members of Congress) in 2006 --- and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named him one of the "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" in 2006.

:puke: :scared:

[mackerel]

9. The worst of the worst!