Craig, Retirements give Republicans '08 Heartburn

Oct. 5, 2007 — -- Larry Craig, the disgraced Republican senator from Idaho, raised Republican eyebrows Thursday when he announced he had changed his mind and would serve out his Senate term despite a promise last month to resign by Sept. 30.

The good news for Republicans is that Craig said he won't be seeking re-election. Idaho is a reliably Republican state and the GOP should have no problem finding a replacement.

But Craig was not the only Republican to announce Thursday that he would not be seeking re-election in 2008. Sen. Pete Domenici announced at a press conference in New Mexico Thursday that he won't be seeking a seventh term because of his age and a degenerative brain disease he is fighting.

It is not just Domenici's seat that Republicans have to worry about. This is the third time in the past month that a popular, long-serving Republican from a so-called "purple" state will be hanging up his spurs. GOP Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado is also resigning.

It was always going to be a tough election next year for Republicans to the Senate, but with a spate of retirements, it is looking like the bad year could turn downright apocalyptic.

Craig's decision to stay in the Senate to, as he put it, "serve Idaho in the Senate," is certainly causing heartburn for Republicans anxious to be rid of the scandal right now. They have made no bones that his guilty plea for misdemeanor disturbance of the peace and an alleged attempted contretemps in a Minneapolis airport bathroom means he should make himself scarce.

Sen. John Ensign, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, questioned Craig's decision to stay put for the moment.

"I think it is best for the U.S. Senate. I think it is best for his party that if he just keeps his word. He gave us his word that he would do something. He's backing out on us, and I don't think it is the right thing to do," Ensign said.

But from a strictly political standpoint, Domenici's announcement is perhaps more troubling than Craig's for Republicans.