Party faces uphill battle in Congress

WASHINGTON — A spate of retirement announcements by Senate Republicans this year have further complicated attempts by GOP strategists to begin rebuilding a party devastated by across-the-board losses in recent elections.

The latest departure news came Monday, when Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio said he has decided not to seek a third term in 2010, citing a desire to "step back and spend the rest of our time with our children and grandchildren." Voinovich joins Republican Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Christopher Bond of Missouri, and Mel Martinez of Florida on the sidelines heading into the 2010 election. So far this year, no Democrats have announced plans to retire after the current Senate term.

The pace of Republican retirement announcements has dispirited many in the party who thought the 2008 election, in which the party lost seven or eight seats (depending on the outcome of the Minnesota contest), marked the GOP's nadir.

Situation is made worse

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, the No. 3 Republican leader, said the decisions by Voinovich, Martinez and Bond hurt the party both politically and legislatively. "We're losing three of our best players," said Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.

"It makes an already tough situation even worse," added Fred Davis, a Republican consultant who spearheaded advertising strategy for Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential race.

A number of factors have contributed to the number of looming retirements. Age and length of service have played a role (Voinovich will be 74 on Election Day 2010, and Bond has spent the past three decades in public office), but the common element in each decision appears to be the difficult path facing Republicans if they hope to regain the majority.

Republicans control only 41 Senate seats and have 20 incumbents up for reelection in 2010, compared with 17 for the Democrats.

Some in the GOP pointed out that the retirements — coupled with defeats at the ballot box in 2006 and 2008 — have created opportunities for a younger generation of leaders to step in and reshape the party.

Former congressman Rob Portman, an almost-certain candidate for the Voinovich vacancy in Ohio, has long been seen as a rising Republican star but had not had a statewide opportunity until now.

"A true shift is under way," said Alex Vogel, a GOP lobbyist who closely follows Senate races.