BREAKING NEWS OVERNIGHT!!

From the Political Hotline:

Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) announced his retirement tonight, becoming the third Dem in a vulnerable seat to announce his departure in the last few weeks. "The time has now come to pursue other options, other ways of serving. Hence, I am announcing today that I do not intend to seek reelection to Congress in 2010," Baird wrote in a statement. "This is not an easy decision to be sure, but I believe it is the right decision at the right time."

Baird's District is in Southwest Washington, and includes Olympia, and Vancouver.

Already announced for the seat is Republican State Rep. Jaime Herrera of Battle Ground. She's been known as a "Jobs First" legislator, and a staunch fiscal conservative. Back in April she criticized Gov. Gregoire's budget (Vancouver Business Journal):

"The only thing I'm proud of with this budget is that Republicans fought against tax increases on working families and employers, and won. However, this budget does not fix the fundamental problem that got us here -- overspending.

The leftwing HA Seattle site says that the GOP "may have the advantage" for the seat, in this mostly rural district, particularly with an attractive candidate like Herrera. The political site goes on to note, "there is a large and boisterous conservative movement and a well-organized Republican Party machine [there] that utilizes talk radio and newspapers to the fullest advantage."

Editor's Comment - something tells me that southwestern Washington State voters will be much happier being represented in Congress by a fiscal conservative Hot Latin chic, rather than a pale-faced Leftist. Just sayin'.