House Republicans got a rare bit of encouraging news today when Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.) announced he would be stepping down after nine terms in Congress, opening up a conservative-minded seat in northern Alabama.“I have been truly blessed to be able to serve this district in Washington,” Cramer said in a statement. “While I am closing my career as a member of Congress I will continue to be active in the life, growth and development of the community that I, my parents and my grandchildren will always call home.”A founder of the conservative-leaning Blue Dog Democrats, Cramer has maintained a centrist voting record during his 18 years in Congress. He has been a leading advocate for the district’s sizable aerospace industry, concentrated at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

The district, centered in Huntsville, has leaned Republican in federal races, but has a history of supporting Democrats as well. It gave President Bush 60 percent of the vote in 2004, and 54 percent in 2000.

CBS News

This should be a lean Republican race now. As long as the Alabama GOP doesn’t screw it up like they did in Illinois last week by nominating a candidate who has lost every election he has ever ran in or someone who is a complete RINO, we should end up with this seat and produce a strong Reagan conservative. We still have a few of these districts lingering around the south, occupied by old school Democrat incumbents who are keeping us from flipping these seats red: GA-12, GA-8, and SC-5 come to mind immediately.