Bluegrass Switcheroo

According to Politico’s Josh Kraushaar, Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY 02) withdrew his re-election papers this p.m. and will retire. As the deadline to file for the race was this afternoon, two GOPers quickly entered: state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R) and Lewis CoS Daniel London (R). According to Kraushaar, the NRCC "indicated" that it "strongly favored" Guthrie.

State Sen. David Boswell (D) is one of two Dems to file for the race, and was touted earlier this cycle by Dems in a CD that gave Lewis just 55% in ’06. His conservative position on abortion and other social issues are a good fit for the CD, where Dems outnumber GOPers by about 100K voters, but where Pres. Bush took 65% in '04. Those Dems came home in the ’07 GOV race, and Dems are hoping they do so again in ’08, especially now that this is an open seat contest. (TIM SAHD)