Chris Cillizza has the scoop.

As a lifetime Missouri resident, I’m sure this will be very big news at home. Love him or not, Bond’s one of the Show-Me State’s epic political figures and the first Missouri governor I remember as a child. (He was first elected to that position in 1972, when I was seven.)

The Dems will be salivating for the chance to pick up this seat in 2010, which Cillizza’s post makes clear. In addition, the party will have some decent candidates (from the little I know of them) to toss into the mix — e.g., Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and AG-elect Chris Koster, a former Republican turned Democrat.

That said, I continue to believe there’s merit in balance, and for that reason alone (perhaps not the best of reasons) I tentatively hope the seat stays Republican, so that Missouri (in turn) continues to be represented on both sides of the aisle.