Hurtling Toward 2010, 1/4

The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:

Rep. Henry Brown (R-SC) announced he'll retire from the House after five terms at the end of 2010; a Democratic candidate for Brown's seat, Robert Burton, traveled to DC to fundraise after getting wind of Brown's retirement; Linda Ketner, the Democrat who lost to Brown by four percentage points in 2008, says she'll consider running for the seat again; Democrat-turned-Republican Parker Griffith's (AL) staff has resigned en masse, roughly two weeks after he switched parties; Blue Dogs are getting some help from the Blue Dog PAC, which has given more money to candidates than any politician-controlled political action committee, helping out moderate and conservative Democrats to the tune of $635,000 this election cycle; Rep. Pete King (R-NY) is rethinking a possible challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) hinted, in promoting a new Twitter feed, that he will seek reelection.