After too much (tea) partying, Stupak retires

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who had a central role in the health reform fight as the leader of anti-abortion Democrats, plans to announce Friday that he will not run for reelection, a Democratic official said. Without Stupak on the ballot, the seat becomes an immediate pickup opportunity for Republicans.

"Now with health care done, he’s retiring," a friend said. "He has thought about retiring for the last three cycles, but was always talked into staying: to elect John Kerry to help end the war, to elect a Democratic majority to get health care done."

President Barack Obama called Stupak on Wednesday and asked him not to retire. Stupak, 58, also resisted entreaties from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the dean of the Wolverine State delegation.

Republicans immediately attributed Stupak's decision to step down as a direct consequence of his health care vote.

“After selling his soul to Nancy Pelosi, it appears that Bart Stupak finally found the courage to tell her no," said National Republican Congressional Committee communications director Ken Spain. "The political fallout over the Democrats’ government takeover of healthcare has put the political careers of many Democrats in jeopardy thanks in-part to Stupak’s decision to abandon his alleged pro-life principles."

From the Petoskey News Review:

...Stupak has become a symbol for critics of the overhaul. The Tea Party Express labeled him its No. 2 target for defeat after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

The group kicked off a $250,000 television and radio blitz in Stupak’s district Wednesday, ahead of rallies that began Thursday night and were continuing through the weekend.

“Bart Stupak has lost touch with the people of Michigan, and he has betrayed the public’s trust,” said Mark Williams, the group’s chairman.

Three little-known hopefuls are seeking the GOP nomination, and Stupak faced a primary challenge from a Democrat who is pro-choice on abortion.

Even so, Michigan’s 1st District is notoriously difficult turf for anyone trying to unseat the incumbent. Measuring 600 miles across, it takes in about half the state’s land mass — including the entire Upper Peninsula — and has no major media market. The largest city, Marquette, where Stupak was planning to officially announce his retirement later Friday, has about 20,000 residents.

Stupak has routinely won re-election by wide margins, defeating former state Rep. Tom Casperson with 65 percent of the vote in 2008, and said he was confident of prevailing again.

He acknowledged the criticism he received over the health care reform — including telephone threats to his office — had taken a toll, but said he had thrived during the debate. What wore him down, he said, was the grind of constant travel across his sprawling district.