When it rains, it pours: Conrad's Exit to Pressure Democrats

From The Wall Street Journal:

Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota announced Tuesday that he wouldn't seek re-election, denting his party's hopes of retaining its Senate majority in 2012.

Mr. Conrad's departure after next year will make it harder for Democrats to hold his seat in what could be a tough election season for the party. In November, North Dakota voters picked Republicans for Senate and House seats that had been held by Democrats.

Next year, Democrats will have to defend 23 Senate seats, many of them in conservative or swing states such as North Dakota, Missouri, Virginia and Nebraska. Republicans are defending only 10 Senate seats in 2012. That landscape gives the GOP a chance to overcome the Democrats' majority in the Senate, which stands at 53 seats to 47. Joseph Lieberman (I., Conn.) also won't be seeking re-election, according to people familiar with the matter.

So far, the only Republican to announce retirement plans is Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. On Tuesday, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana reaffirmed his plans to seek re-election, despite a likely primary challenge from a tea party-backed candidate. Republican prospects are strong in both states.

North Dakota has become an emblem of the Democratic Party's weakened position in the Upper Midwest. The state's three-person delegation had been held entirely by Democrats since 1992. Like South Dakota and Montana, the state has often displayed a kind of prairie populism and a centrist streak in its social attitudes that has allowed Democrats to win congressional seats, even as voters favored Republicans in presidential elections.