Dammit Jim, I'm A Blogger, Not A Senator!

Realizing that he has basically zero chance of winning reelection at this point, Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning is throwing in the towel in 2010.

Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, the most endangered Republican up for reelection in 2010, appears headed for retirement after giving his leading GOP rival the blessing to prepare to run for his seat next year.

Bunning’s retirement would be a huge victory for national Republicans who have grown increasingly nervous that the 77-year-old two-term senator would lose a critical race as the party tries to cling to its diminished minority in the Senate.

On Thursday afternoon, Kentucky GOP Secretary of State Trey Grayson announced that he would form an exploratory committee to run for Bunning’s seat — a move that Kentucky GOP operatives say is a precursor to Bunning's retirement. Grayson's entry will come as a relief to Kentucky Republicans and Senate GOP leaders, who may now have reason to believe their party could hold on to this seat.

And actually I was really, really hoping Jim would stick around. He was terribly unpopular. But this makes it a wide open race, and the fact that as a wide open seat it's still competitive for the Dems in the state that gave McCain his largest victory is really saying something.

The funny part? The last guy to find out Jim Bunning was retiring was apparently Jim Bunning.

Bunning’s spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment, but GOP sources expect Bunning — whose lackluster fundraising and erratic behavior has put his reelection bid in imperil — to eventually make his announcement official.

“He’s either acting in a really odd manner or graciously setting the table for preparing for the strongest candidate to be viable and ready to run as soon as he officially retires,” said a senior GOP aide. "Why would someone anoint the strongest statewide Republican to form a committee to run against him?”

With Bunning in the race, Democrats viewed the Kentucky Senate seat as one of their leading pickup opportunities, given the two-term senator’s tenuous political standing. Two statewide Democratic officials — Attorney General Jack Conway and Daniel Mongiardo — entered the race in the last several months, and led Bunning in many public polls.

A Public Policy Polling survey conducted earlier this month showed Bunning with just a 28 percent approval rating — exceptionally weak for an incumbent who hasn’t been tainted by scandal. The poll showed every prospective Democratic challenger defeating Bunning.

Having to publicly hand the knife to the guy who is cutting your own throat and having to smile while doing it. It's great being a Republican.