In the last 24 hours Democrats have had 2 United States Senators, and 1 Governor declare that they are taking a pass on running for re-election in 2010.

The news started to roll with the announcement from North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan stating he will not be running for re-election in 2010.  Things started rolling faster when embattled, embroiled, or just plain beat up, Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd said he to will be taking a pass on running for re-election in 2010.

In Connecticut there are already a number of Democrats and Republicans lining up to seek the Dodd seat, but his official move now may change things enough that a higher profile Democrat with a record of being elected statewide may step into the breach now for Connecticut Democrats – and if nobody who legitimately fits that profile does step in – what does that say about the overall national environment if blue Connecticut can’t bring in a ringer? UPDATE: Democrat A.G. Richard Blumenthal is scheduled to announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate today.  Finally – the man makes a decision.

On the North Dakota side of the ledger Dorgan’s announcement comes as a surprise to many.  Though there has been a decent amount of chatter as folks pondered a November contest between North Dakota’s sitting Republican governor John Hoeven and Senator Dorgan.  The next couple of days will be very interesting in North Dakota as those with an interest in serving in the United States Senate – both Democrat and Republican – gauge the cold political winds blowing across the state.  Republicans are doing well in North Dakota despite a flood of national Democrat money over the past couple election cycles.  If Democrats are only able to pull up a retread candidate from the past, this seat will flip over to the R column.  UPDATE:  Republican Governor John Hoeven has said he’ll have a decision on whether or not to run for the open seat in the next 2 weeks.

You can read more about Dodd’s and Dorgan’s decision here.

Lastly – in what could be a leading indicator of things to come in Colorado, Democrat Governor Bill Ritter is announcing (to a surprised Colorado Democrat establishment) that he too is not seeking re-election in 2010.  Ritter was elected by wide margins in 2006, but clearly things have changed – and are still changing – in Colorado.  We wonder if Ritter’s departure is another indication that the Colorado model is coming apart for Democrats.

Get more on Ritter’s decision here.