Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto), who used to be the Minority Leader until being tossed under the bus after the budget deal, announced that he will not be running for re-election. Despite not being termed out, Cogdill said that he accomplished what he came to Sacramento for, getting a water deal. Now he’s ready to ride off into the sunset.

But wait, there’s another part of this.  Cogdill is also on the Governor’s “Short list” to replace John Garamendi as Lt. Governor.  So, we may yet be hearing more from Cogdill.  That he lasted as long as he did as Senate Minority leader was something of an accomplishment. He was fighting uprisings constantly, and the caucus was none too pleased when he came back with the May 19 election deal.

Asm. Mike Villines (R-Clovis), who is currently running for insurance commissioner, has said he hasn’t ruled out running for the seat. The seat leans fairly Republican, while the Insurance Commissioner would be a tough fight for a Republican against any one of the three Democratic candidates.