A Washington Republican who is watching the battle for the House closely takes a look at the Stupak news and concludes:

Gonna be a tough fight, but as you know, open-seat races are always easier. I do wonder if this sparks another round of retirements – especially from the Stupak sell-outs. One has to believe Stupak’s retirement is driven by what he is seeing at home, so his vote and flip-flop could haunt whoever the Democrat is who runs in November. The filing deadline is in a month so they have some time to shop around for other candidates, but Benishek has been pulling in national cash – was on Hannity last night.

That would be Dan Benishek, a general surgeon whose campaign debuted as a Free Republic post in February. Other Republicans interested in the seat include pro-bono attorney Linda Goldthorpe and former trucking-company executive Don Hooper.