Rep Hopson jumps to Republican Party

Hopson jumps over to the Republican party:

Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, will seek reelection, but as a Republican — a move that might save his neck while wrecking the party's chances at winning a majority in the House.

Hopson, who barely scraped by in 2008, initially planned to make an announcement this afternoon but moved it up to this morning as rumors spread and the Texas Democratic Party scorched him in a press release.

"President Obama and the Democrats in Congress just don't reflect the values of this district," he said.

The report notes that "Hopson's is the second Democratic seat to fall; David Farabee of Wichita Falls said earlier this year that he won't seek reelection." This pads the GOP single-vote margin in the House a bit making the Democrat dream of takeover much more out-of-reach. There were about 10 seats that went to Democrats by margins under 5%. If you apply the 15 point swing that was observed in Virginia and New Jersey to Texas, a LOT of seats would fall to Republicans.