The central storyline of the early days of the 2012 election cycle in the Senate revolves around retirements.
Open seats are, traditionally, more likely to switch parties than contests where the incumbent is seeking reelection so both parties do their darndest in the early days of every election cycle to convince their members to stay put.
That work is ongoing as we write — literally — and will continue over the coming weeks and months.
Until senators make their go/no go announcements, we have history to keep us warm in these cold political nights. (Yes, that’s weird. But such is the post-election life of a campaign junkie.)
Since 1996, the average number of Senate retirements has been seven; the fewest retirements (four) during that time period came in 2006 while the most (13) happened twice — once in 1996 and again in 2010.
Full Story: The Fix – Who will leave the Senate in 2012?