This afternoon, GOP Rep. Scott Rigell announced he will retire from his Virginia Beach-based seat after three terms in the House. The wealthy auto dealer has been one of the more bipartisan members of the GOP class of 2010, and proved a difficult target for Democrats. Normally, Democrats would have a decent chance at picking up his seat, but under last month's court-ordered remap, the seat is slated to get friendlier to Republicans. Under the new lines, Virginia's 2nd CD loses parts of Democratic-leaning Norfolk and reaches up the Virginia Peninsula to include heavily Republican areas around Yorktown and Poquoson. President Obama's 2012 share in the district goes down from 50 percent to 48 percent in the new map. That would make it more difficult for Democrats to recruit and compete, even if Republicans nominate a polarizing presidential candidate. One possibility is that neighboring GOP Rep. Randy Forbes, whose 4th CD was turned into a safe Democratic seat in the remap, could move to Virginia Beach and run. Forbes lives in Chesapeake and has never represented any of the new
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