A shame, tho I hope he pulls a Buchwald and lasts in a comfortable condition longer than the doctors think he will. Here's some local news coverage of his arrival in Augusta.
Of course, the crass political issue is which Republican will get his seat. His district is sufficiently Republican that there's no reasonable chance of a Democrat picking it up.
True. 66%-32% for Bush in 2000, 72%-27% in 2004.
Redistricting in 2005 made the district much less Republican by adding liberal Athens in an attempt to defeat Barrow in GA-12. Under the new lines it went 65%-35% Bush in 2004 and 59%-41% Bush in 2000. A Democrat one this district as recently as 1992.
It would still be an uphill struggle, although an open seat race could potentially be competetive. Norwood defeated an incumbent Democrat in 1994 by one of the biggest upsets in history, 65%-35% against an incumbent who was not tarred with scandal.
