Democratic Rep. Bill Owens' decision to retire from the House after just two full terms ensures a Toss Up race in New York's "North Country" 21st District. Although it comes as a minor blow to Democrats, it's not nearly as much of a blow as recent retirements by Blue Dog Reps. Jim Matheson and Mike McIntyre, whose districts moved from Lean Democratic to Likely Republican. That's because Owens' race was already very close to a Toss Up.Owens becomes the third two-term incumbent to retire this year, following GOP Reps. Tim Griffin (AR-02) and Jon Runyan (NJ-03). None of the three had served in elective office prior to coming to the House, raising the question of whether these "non-politicians" realized they didn't get what they bargained for when they arrived in DC.NY-21 is one of just nine districts in the country with a Cook Partisan Voter Index score of EVEN, meaning it's as close to the national partisan average as you can get. And while other occupants of such districts (such as DCCC Chair Steve Israel) have strong personal brands that
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