Retirement Watch - First Dem Added to GOP-Dominated List

According to The Albany Times-Union, NY House Dem Michael McNulty will announce his retirement next Monday. The 60-year old congressman will be relinquishing his relatively safe Democratic seat (NY-21) after ten terms. The Albany-Schenectady area has been a reliably Democratic district in recent national elections. While the NRCC may be tempted to pour resources into this open seat, Dems will be favored to retain in 2008. No candidates from either party are in the race, but the Times-Union lists the following as potential candidates:

Among the names already circulating on the Democratic side are Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton, son of McNulty’s predecessor; state Sen. Neil Breslin of Bethlehem; M. Tracey Brooks, an aide to Sen. Hillary Clinton who challenged former Assemblyman Pat Casale.
On the Republican side, freshman Schenectady Assemblyman George Amedore’s name has come up.

Two other House Dems (Maine's Tom Allen and Colorado's Mark Udall) are currently the only Dem open seats heading into 2008. Both are vacating their seats in hopes of a "promotion" to the US Senate.

The story is far different for the GOP, where a dozen House members (at last count) have either opted for retirement or been tempted to run for another office. Many of these retirements are occuring in the critical battleground states of the midwest, fueling Democratic hopes of expanding their House majority.

Race Tracker wiki: NY-21