Allard Announces He Won't Seek Re-Election

MSNBC is reporting that Colorado Republican Wayne Allard will not run for re-election to the US Senate in 2008. Sen. Allard has stated that he will honor his self-imposed term limits pledge and retire at the end of his second term in the Senate.

Colorado has been a Republican-leaning state (George W. Bush carried the state in both 2000 and 2004), but the Democrats have made gains in recent elections.

Democrats see the race as a chance to pick up another vote in Congress after wresting two House seats and a Senate seat from Republicans the past two years. Republicans hope to stanch a long series of losses, including both houses of the state Legislature and the governor's office.

Democratic Rep. Mark Udall, a popular five-term congressman and son of former Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona, has said he was going to run for the seat whether Allard did or not. Another Democrat who has been mentioned as a potential candidate is Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

This may be a story that has little significance outside of Colorado, however, it may be the beginning of a trend. After the Republicans captured the House and Senate in 1994, the Democrats found themselves in the minority after a long stretch of being the majority party. Many Democratic Senators did not like life in the minority and several did not seek re-election in 1996. This led to a greater number of open seats which were easier for the Republicans to pick off, thereby further increasing their Senate majority.

2008 will be a tough year for Senate Repulicans seeking re-election simply beacuse there are nearly twice as many Republican seats to defend than Democratic seats. This means that, absent a political earthquake, the Republicans have almost no chance to regain their Senate majority in the 2008 elections.

It will be interesting to see if the Allard retirement announcement will foreshadow a wave of Republican retirement announcements in the coming weeks.