Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, says he is optimistic about the party's prospects in November despite news this week of prominent retirements.
Sens. Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut announced that they are not running again. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he would not seek a second term, and Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry said he would not run for governor.
"I think the passage of historic health-care [legislation] and continued improvement in the economy is going to actually surprise some people in November in terms of how Democrats do," Kaine said yesterday in an interview on "The Early Show" on CBS.
On Jan. 16, Kaine will turn over Virginia's governorship to Republican Bob McDonnell. Kaine's main job then will be to serve as President Barack Obama's hand-picked chairman of the DNC during a crucial election season in which all 435 U.S. House seats, 37 U.S. Senate seats and 37 governorships will be filled.
Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the retirements "should serve as a major wake-up call to Democrat leadership that members of their own caucus don't want to be held accountable to the voters they have ignored for the past year."
But Kaine said that while two Democratic senators are going to retire, six Republicans are retiring. Ten Democratic House members are retiring, but so are 14 Republicans. Two Democratic governors won't seek re-election, but neither will four Republicans.
Kaine said Democrats also will benefit from what he called "a huge, corrosive civil war within the Republican Party" as GOP candidates across the country wage pitched battles for House and Senate nominations.
Contact Andrew Cain at (804) 649-6645 or acain@timesdispatch.com.
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