And then there were five

Rep. James Walsh, R-NY-25 has announced he will forgo seeking a hard re-election battle and retire at the end of his term. This now brings the total number of Republican Congressional members from New York state to five; Rep. King, McHugh, Reynolds, Kuhl, and Fossella. Out of 29 Congressional seats 23 are controlled by Democrats (Walsh's has no incumbent), all but two practically safe from any challenge. Walsh's district is even more Democratic leaning than Fossella's at a PVI D+3 meaning this is a likely pick up for Dan Maffei the 2006 challenger, giving Democrats 24 of 29 seats easily. In 2006 Democrats picked up three seats with Rep. Hall, Gilibrand and Arcuri. Republicans could not mount a serious candidate against either Spitzer or Clinton statewide. It is a good trend that does not bode well for Fossella. New York State is trending blue and proving to be a difficult place to be a Republican. New Yorkers just are not buying their policies and realizing substantively they have little in common with them.