New RMA member Don Johnson reports that Democrat state senator Dan Gibbs will not run for re-election in his mountain district in 2010. A good opportunity for the Dead Guvs to pine that state lawmakers aren’t paid well enough.

Suddenly, SD16 has to look a lot more appealing to Republicans. Last time around Gibbs beat Don Ytterberg (now the chairman of the Jefferson County GOP) by a nearly 3-to-2 margin. But the political environment makes the seat a lot more competitive for Republicans in 2010, and I don’t see any scenario where they can win back the majority without it. If the rumors haven’t already started to circulate, allow me to ask:

Will first-term Rep. Cheri Gerou in HD 25 make the leap? Might someone coax former Rep. Rob Witwer to give it a go? Perhaps Muhammad Ali Hasan might consider self-financing a bid for SD 16 (or even running to replace Christine Scanlan in the House if she makes the leap to replace Gibbs)?

Let the speculation begin…. Or maybe I’m way off base here. You tell me.