Max Baucus Retiring: Will Governor Schweitzer Run For Open Seat?

Senator Max Baucus, D-Mont. has announced he will retire at the end of his term in 2014. The third-longest-serving Senator, he became Senator in December 1978 after the resignation of Paul Hatfield. He and fellow Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., are an anomaly in that they are two Democrats that represent an otherwise "red state."

That is partially why Republicans in Montana are already mulling over possible candidates in the upcoming yet-uncontested election in 2014. At this point State Rep. Steve Daines and State Attorney General Tim Fox are the only two Republicans eyeing Max Baucus' seat, but now that his announcement is official, more may come out of the woodwork. A big Democrat name floating around is that of former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a two-term governor who is still very popular in Montana. He has not made a decision to run yet, but is seen as a likely candidate for the Democrats as a successor to Max Baucus.

The longtime Senator has a checkered voting past. He was a strong supporter of the conservative fiscal policy, including the Bush Tax Cuts, but has in recent days voted in line with President Barack Obama's liberal agenda, including being crucial to the formation and passage of the Obamacare legislation.

Baucus, 71, may see former Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., a big name in Big Sky Country, seek the Senate seat, after losing twice to Baucus and once to Tester. Montana has been a reliable vote for Republican presidential candidates for a long time.

The Senate Finance Committee, a powerful group of legislators will lose both its chairman, Baucus, and second most senior majority official, Sen. John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., as both plan to retire at the end of their terms. Rockefeller and Baucus are not the only high-profile Democrats who are retiring. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Carl Levin of Michigan and Tom Harkin of Iowa have all been in the Senate a number of years and are departing at the end of their terms.

While Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and C. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. are two prominent Republicans who have also announced their retirement, some have said that if they play their cards right, 2014 may be a year that Republicans have a chance to once again hold the majority in the U.S. Senate. Chambliss's home state of Georgia will likely elect someone of the same party, and outside of "Cornhusker Kickback" dealmaker, Former Sen. E. Benjamin Nelson, D-Neb., Nebraska has a good chance to have a Republican succeed Johanns.

It will likely be much more of an uphill battle for Republicans in Michigan and New Jersey, with Mayor Cory Booker, D-Newark, mulling the prospect of higher office. He recently decided against challenging Gov. Christopher J. Christie, R-N.J., who is very popular in the Garden State.