FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2015 file photo, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, walks to a GOP meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Poe, a conservative, announced on Nov. 7, 2017, that he plans to retire rather than... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2015 file photo, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, walks to a GOP meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Poe, a conservative, announced on Nov. 7, 2017, that he plans to retire rather than seek re-election to another term in 2018 Poe, 69, whose district covers parts of Houston and northern... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Two longtime GOP lawmakers announced their retirements Tuesday from the House of Representatives, adding to the growing list of Republicans electing to leave Capitol Hill under the Trump administration rather than face voters in next year's midterm elections. 
 
 Twelve-term Rep. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey declared in a statement that "our nation is now consumed by increasing political polarization" and "there is no longer middle ground." The 71-year-old became the latest moderate Republican to leave Congress and open up a seat that will be ripe for Democrats to pick up as they fight to retake control of the House next year. 
 
 Then, several hours later, seven-term Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, a conservative, announced that he too plans to retire rather than seek re-election to another term next year. Poe, 69, whose district covers parts of Houston and northern suburbs, said in a statement that "Thanks to the lord, I'm in good health, but it's time for the next step." He added that he was looking forward to spending more time with his grandkids. 
 
 Poe's district is solidly Republican and would be a struggle for Democrats to win. 
 
 With the announcements from LoBiondo and Poe, the list of Republicans who've announced plans to retire rather than seek re-election is now near two dozen, compared to fewer than half-a-dozen Democrats. Although only a handful of the GOP seats opening up are highly competitive for the Democrats, the many retirements nonetheless are adding up to an increasingly rosy scenario for Democrats, who must pick up two dozen seats to win back the House. 
 
 LoBiondo said the time is right for him to leave anyway because of term limits on his service on the Intelligence Committee and as chairman of the Transportation Committee's subcommittee on aviation. But he also delivered an indictment of the current political climate. 
 
 "As some of my closest colleagues have also come to realize, those of us who came to Congress to change Washington for the better through good governance are now the outliers," LoBiondo wrote. "In legislating, we previously fought against allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good. Today a vocal and obstinate minority within both parties has hijacked good legislation in pursuit of no legislation." 
 
 LoBiondo joins several other House GOP moderates, including Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who have decided not to seek re-election in next year's midterms. Also Tuesday, Arizona Republicans confirmed that another establishment-friendly House Republican, Rep. Martha McSally, plans to run for Senate for the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. 
 
 Taken together, the departures of GOP moderates could result in an even more polarized House than exists today. In years past large blocs of moderate Blue Dog Democrats and centrist Republicans could sway outcomes on legislation, but the ranks of the Blue Dogs have already been decimated while the GOP moderates are dwindling fast. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed. 

 Sound smart: It's tempting to read too much into off-year elections. And, given both Virginia and New Jersey are states Hillary Clinton won, they by all measures should have gone to Democrats. But don't underestimate how much unity, momentum, money will now flow to Democrats — and how much finger-pointing and funk they avoided. 
 
 For the first time since Election Night one year ago today, Democrats could smile. On a day that set the opening tone for the midterm elections of 2018, voters rejected President Trump, handed Democrats a big win in a swing state in a racially charged moment, and provided hope — however fleeting or fanciful — that they can win back power in Washington. 
 
 In the Virginia governor's race, Democrat Ralph Northam beat Ed Gillespie by 9 points — a far bigger margin than either party had foreseen, and far wider than Hillary Clinton's win over Trump. 
 
 Some empirical data behind the hope: 
 
 
 
 The stunning margin was booked largely in Northern Virginia, in what MSNBC's Steve Kornacki called "the revenge of the suburbs" after a year of Trump. 
 
 U.Va.'s Larry Sabato told me there's one explanation: "Donald Trump. He really is deeply unpopular in urban-suburban Virginia. Voter after voter wanted to send him a message, and said so. Of course, he won't listen, but the message was sent." 
 
 Gillespie lost women by 22 percentage points. 
 
 He won men by 2 percentage points. 
 
 Gillespie won whites by 15 percentage points, and still got crushed. 
 
 Northam won by a 24 point margin among those who decided in last week. It looks like those racially tinged ads/moves backfired. 
 
 And it wasn't just Northam: 
 
 In what the Richmond Times-Dispatch called a "tsunami election," Democrats erase a 32-seat GOP advantage in the House of Delegates, with recounts likely to determine control. 
 
 Plus national history: "Virginia's most socially conservative state lawmaker was ousted from office ... by Danica Roem, a Democrat who will be one of the nation's first openly transgender elected officials and who embodies much of what Del. Robert G. Marshall fought against in Richmond." (WashPost) 
 
 A white mayor won by the largest margin in decades in predominantly black Detroit. 
 
 The first African American Democratic woman was elected mayor of Charlotte. 
 
 A Democrat will replace Chris Christie in New Jersey. 
 
 A Democrat knocked off a GOP incumbent in New Hampshire's largest city to become Manchester's first female mayor. 
 
 "Voters in Maine ... easily approved a referendum to expand Medicaid for low-income adults, doing an end-run around Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who vetoed the move — a key element of Obamacare." (NPR) 
 
 A big story that could get lost in the blizzard: Two more House Republicans — Rep. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey and Rep. Ted Poe of Texas — announced their retirements, increasing chances Dems take the House a year from now. 
 
 The takeaways: Top Republicans were stunned by the severity of the shellacking, and worry that it will endanger both tax reform and the House majority. 
 

– Axios calls it "a big story that could get lost in the blizzard" of Tuesday's elections: Two longtime GOP lawmakers announced their retirements Tuesday from the House of Representatives, adding to the growing list of Republicans electing to leave Capitol Hill under the Trump administration rather than face voters in next year's midterm elections. Twelve-term Rep. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey declared in a statement that "our nation is now consumed by increasing political polarization" and "there is no longer middle ground." Several hours later, seven-term Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, a conservative, announced that he too plans to retire rather than seek re-election, in part to spend more time with his dozen grandkids, all born since he entered office in 2005. The 69-year-old's district covers parts of Houston and northern suburbs and is solidly Republican; it would be a struggle for Democrats to win. But 71-year-old LoBiondo's seat will be ripe for the picking, and the New York Times reports Democrats had already pegged it as a possible top priority. By the Times' count, LoBiondo and Poe bring the list of House Republicans who have left office or declared their intention to leave over the past year to 29, compared to seven Democrats. Although only a handful of the GOP seats opening up are highly competitive for the Democrats, the AP reports the many retirements nonetheless are adding up to an increasingly rosy scenario for Democrats, who must pick up two dozen seats to win back the House.