Rep. Jim Moran's retirement announcement this morning in solidly blue VA-08 is the fifth unanswered Democratic retirement in a week, raising the prospect that 2014 will be more of a "changing of the guard" year than a "partisan change" year in the House. Altogether, there are now 16 Republicans and 11 Democrats not seeking reelection, on track to meet or exceed recent averages.Boasting the shortest commute to Capitol Hill in the country, VA-08 is likely to attract a crowded field of ambitious Democrats in the June free-for-all primary (there is no runoff in Virginia). What's more, neither Arlington nor Alexandria (the two anchors of VA-08) have witnessed an open seat race in the last four decades, setting the stage for serious inside-the-Beltway intrigue.At a Cook Partisan Voter Index score of D+16, there is no chance VA-08 will fall to Republicans. However, taken collectively, the exit of senior-level and tenured Democrats like Moran and Reps. George Miller (CA-11), Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04), and Mike McIntyre (NC-07) in recent days suggests Democrats aren't optimistic about their chances of regaining the majority soon.
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