"GOP sources hint that there may be more party switches to come..."

Under reported political story of the year: Since September over 40 Democrat elected officials in at least 5 states have switched to the Republican Party. They include county clerks, judges, a state attorney general, and one state representative. The switches have come in Vermont, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas.

Yesterday, a United States Congressman switched to the Republican Party from the State of Alabama: Parker Griffith of the AL's 1st District. Now, there's news of even more to come. Four names come up most frequently. And all four have voting records even further to the conservative side than Griffith's.

From the Hotline (National Journal) Dec. 24:

But after a Dec. in which 4 Dems in swing districts announced they would not seek re-election, Griffith's decision to abandon his party cannot be seen as anything but a blow to Dems. If someone with his voting record is deciding to run as a GOPer instead of a Dem, that could suggest he is seeing polling that scares him.

Expect GOPers to suggest that the next to flip may be Reps. Walt Minnick (D-ID), Bobby Bright (D-AL) and Travis Childers (D-MS). All 3 represent deep red districts, and all 3 vote with their party 80% of the time or less -- a lower frequency than Griffith voted with Dem leaders, according to the Washington Post vote tracker.

GOP sources hint that there may be more party switches to come, sounding as confident as they have been with an impending, but not yet obvious, wave of retirements.

Meanwhile, MSNBC identifies three potential switchers post-Griffith switch, including two who made the Hotline list:

The other three: Walt Minnick (ID), Bobby Bright (AL) and Gene Taylor (MS).

UPDATE!

The buzz in Washington, is that a new name has surfaced as a potential party switcher: Democratic Rep. Chris Carney of Pennsylvania. John McCain is said to be seeking to broker the switch.