Morning Digest: Democratic congresswoman who locked down once-volatile seat will retire
The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.
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Leading Off
● NH-02: Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster unexpectedly announced Wednesday that she would not seek a seventh term representing New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District. Her departure opens up a constituency that Joe Biden carried by a solid 54-45 margin in 2020, but that Republicans haven't given up trying to flip.
Kuster's retirement moves her district from the 42nd most vulnerable Democratic-held seat on Daily Kos Elections' House Vulnerability Index to the 14th spot. This shift means that Kuster's now-open seat, which includes the northern and western parts of the state, now ranks higher than the districts held by prominent Republican targets like Maine Rep. Jared Golden and New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez.