Armed Forces Chairman had considered retiring two years ago

by Brian Leubitz

Rep. Buck McKeon has been trying for a while now to retire. Tony Strickland was all set to slide into the seat in 2012, but McKeon opted to stick around for another two years. Now, it seems he’s serious about it:

McKeon, 65, is departing from the southern California seat he was elected to in 1992. Since then, he has won reelection by comfortable margins. He became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2011, after Republicans regained control of the House.

His retirement comes as little surprise – Republicans on Capitol Hill and California have been buzzing about the possibility for months. It will set the stage for a potentially competitive general election: McKeon is vacating a seat that Mitt Romney only won by two percentage points in 2010.(Politico)

The word in the twitterverse is that McKeon will announce the decision formally at a 9am press conference. As for potential replacements, the word is that Strickland plans to take another shot at Congress by carpetbagging to this district. Far-right Sen. Steve Knight has a website up saying that he will run if McKeon retires.  2012 Democratic candidate Lee Rogers has been fundraising well, and looks to be the favored Democrat. And, of course, keep an eye on the Around the Capitol page.

If Rogers can escape the Top-2 minefield in the June primary, it could be a real contest in this Lean Republican seat.