Paul Sarbanes (D), the longest serving Senator in Maryland's history, will retire in January 2007*, according to a breaking story at Washingtonpost.com by Spencer Hsu and John Wagner. The announcement by the liberal Sarbanes, who has been a major presence in Washington for 34 years, leaves open a wide open field of competitors.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) and Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), both of whom have been angling to run for governor in 2006, now have another option available to them.

The race is also expected to appeal to congressmen Albert Wynn and Chris Van Hollen, whose ambitions for higher office are widely known, and Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman who recently stepped down from the presidency of the NAACP in January.

"You can expect a crowded Democratic primary," said James Gimpel, a political science professor at the University of Maryland. "You could have five candidates."

Gimpel said the seat is attractive to Democrats because it is so safe in a state where they outnumber registered Republicans roughly 2-to-1.

Perhaps Alan Keyes will move back to Maryland to get trounced in this race...