Thu, March 20, 2008 - 4:52 PM

He may be the son of a football coach, but former senator George Allen is not one to skip out on March Madness and the fun of filling out the 64-team college basketball bracket.

On his blog Allen writes, “I’m cheering for George Mason to make another storybook run, but I’m picking the UNC Tar Heels to win the championship.”

To see Allen’s handwritten bracket picks, click here.

--Neil Simon

Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York announced today he is retiring this fall, bringing to 29 the number of incumbent House Republican to do so.

Only six House Democrats have announced they are retiring. A seventh Democrat, Al Wynn of Maryland, lost his primary but his seat is expected to be won this fall by another Democrat.

The disparity in retirements is seen by political analysts as giving Democrats a huge advantage in potential pick-ups this fall, in seats seen as more competitive because no incumbent will be running. In addition, a 30th House Republican, Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland, was defeated in his primary.

Already, Democrats this month picked up a Republican seat by taking a special election early this month for the seat vacated by House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois.

The opening up of Reynolds’ Western New York seat is seen as yet another possible pick-up for Democrats who already control the chamber.
Reynolds, a former head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has seen his oversight of that unit questioned in recent weeks in the accounting scandal in which a former treasurer is alleged to have embezzled funds.

Reynolds also had been tied to the scandal involving former Florida GOP Rep. Mark Foley’s inappropriate e-mails to underage male House pages. Reynolds had said he was made aware of and told Hastert about the e-mails, but did not press Hastert to take action against Foley.

Republicans House Conference Chairman Adam Putnam had some nice words for Reynolds, following his retirement announcement.

“Tom Reynolds is perhaps the last of a dying breed, an old-fashioned statesman who revels in the rough and tumble of politics. Certainly no one has fought harder for the people of Western New York over the last four decades than Tom has. His retirement is a loss for the state delegation and the entire Republican Conference,” said Putnam.

Here are an updated list Congressional Districts or so-called “open seats” up for grabs in the U.S. House this fall, listed by the names of their incumbents who will not be running for re-election.

Republican seats:
Terry Everett, retiring from Alabama’s 2nd CD;
Rick Renzi, retiring from Arizona’s 1st CD;
John Doolittle, retiring from California’s 4th CD;
Duncan Hunter, retiring from California 52nd CD’
Tom Tancredo, retiring from Colorado’s 6th CD;
Dave Weldon, retiring from Florida’s 15 CD;
Jerry Weller, retiring from Illinois’ 11 CD;
Ray LaHood, retiring from Illinois’ 18 CD;
Ron Lewis, retiring from Kentucky’s 2nd CD;
Jim McCrery, retiring from Louisiana’s 4th CD;
Wayne Gilchrest, lost a primary, from Maryland’s 1st CD;
Jim Ramstad, retiring from Minnesota’s 3rd CD;
Kenny Hulshof, running for governor, from Missouri’s 9th CD;
Chip Pickering, retiring from Mississippi’s 3rd CD;
Jim Saxton, retiring, from New Jersey’s 3rd CD;
Mike Ferguson, retiring from New Jersey’s 7th CD;
Heather Wilson, running for U.S. Senate, from New Mexico’s 1st CD;
Steve Pearce, running for U.S. Senate, from New Mexico’s 2nd CD;
James Walsh, retiring from New York’s 25th CD;
David Hobson, retiring from Ohio’s 7th CD;
Deborah Pryce, retiring from Ohio’s 15th CD;
Ralph Regula, retiring from Ohio’s 16th CD;
John Peterson, retiring from Pennsylvania’s 5th CD;
Tom Davis, retiring from Virginia’s 11th CD;
Barbara Cubin, retiring from Wyoming’s at-large district.
Tom Reynolds, retiring from New York’s 26th District.

Democratic seats
Mark Udall, running for U.S. Senate, from Colorado’s 2nd CD;
Tom Allen, running for U.S. Senate, from Maine’s 1st CD.
Al Wynn, lost primary, from Maryland’s 4th CD;
Tom Udall, running for U.S. Senate, from New Mexico’s 3rd CD;
Michael McNulty, retiring, from New York’s 21st CD;
Darlene Hooley, retiring, from Oregon’s 5th CD.
Bud Cramer, retiring from Alabama’s 5th CD.

Here are current House seat vacancies identified by the departing lawmakers and their Congressional District. These seats are to be filled in special elections between March and June.
Republicans
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana’s 1st CD (sworn in as governor on Jan. 14).
Richard Baker, resigned from Louisiana’s 6th CD on Feb. 2.
Roger Wicker, Mississippi’s 1st CD (appointed to U.S. Senate on Dec. 31, 2007).
Democrats
Tom Lantos, California’s 12th CD (died Feb. 11).

-- Billy House

John McCain isn't the only candidate who has March Madness. Barack Obama was working on his bracket during the flight between Fayetteville and Charlotte in North Carolina on Wednesday. According to the AP story, his campaign has a $10 per person pool for this year's NCAA tournament.

Obama better hope the Charlotte police (and the Clinton campaign) don't find out about that. According to About.com, Charlotte is one of the municipalities that have made public statements pointing out that the annual pools are illegal there, as they are in most parts of the country.

-- Mark Young

Maybe because it’s the political version of US Weekly, but I find reading about the release of Hillary Clinton’s schedule fascinating.

If you’re truly nosy, you can check it all out here. But nearly every major news organization is providing good summaries of what’s in the schedules – and what isn’t in the schedules.

The best round-up of what’s being said comes from New York magazine’s Daily Intel blog. The writer points out that there’s really not a lot of good gossip in there. We just all hoped or imagined there would be.

-- Amy Dominello

Hillary Clinton pollster and chief strategist Mark Penn e-mailed supporters and reporters today to point out Barack Obama’s slide in a recent Gallup poll that shows Clinton favored by seven points over Obama among Democrats nationwide.

“For a long time we have explained that poll numbers for a candidate who has not yet been vetted or tested are not firm numbers, and we are beginning to see that clearly,” Penn wrote.

The folks at RealClearPolitics show the average of all recent Democratic polls still gives Obama the edge in the primary contest 47 percent to Clinton’s 44 percent.

Poll averages also show presumptive Republican nominee John McCain enjoying a slim lead over either Democrat in hypothetical contests. Against Obama, McCain leads 46 percent to 45 percent, with 6 percent undecided. Against Clinton, McCain leads 45 percent to 44 percent with 6 percent undecided.

--Neil H. Simon