Wow. The Blue Dogs are starting to drop like flies.

After more than a quarter-century of public service to his home state of Tennessee, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon announced his plans to retire from Congress when his current term ends in 2010.
“I feel honored that the people of Middle Tennessee have allowed me to serve them for the past 25 years,” said Gordon. “Every decision I have made in Congress has been with their best interests in mind. I hope the people here at home feel that I have served them as well as their good advice and views have served me.

I wrote about Gordon’s troubles back in August:

Rep. Bart Gordon would seem like the last Democrat to represent the fears of nervous Blue Dogs. He’s been in his seat — Al Gore’s old House seat in Tennessee — since 1984. He ran unopposed in 2008, and faced no significant opposition in 2006, 2004, or 2002. But his district’s Cook Partisan Index is R+13, and McCain carried 62 percent of the vote in last year’s presidential election. Gordon got only 74 percent of the vote with no official opposition. What’s more, Gordon protected himself by reaching out to his district’s Republicans and voting carefully, denying his challengers easy, popular issues in most cycles.

Huge pickup opportunity for Republicans here, and a key sign for other Blue Dog Democrats that it’s probably worth looking at private-sector options . . .

UPDATE: The GOP field in this district includes activist Dave Evans and former Rutherford County Republican chairwoman Lou Ann Zelenik, with state senator Jim Tracy expected to announce soon.