The chairman of the Armed Services Committee, California Rep. Buck McKeon, will announce his retirement today, according to sources close to the congressman. The Hill: The powerful lawmaker's retirement is likely to spark a battle for his chairmanship - and lead to a competitive race for his House seat. Democrats are hopeful they could compete for McKeon's slightly Republican-leaning district in Southern California now that he's retiring. President Obama won 48 percent of the vote there in 2012. Lee Rogers (D), who held McKeon to under 55 percent of the vote in 2012, is running again and had $180,000 in the bank as of the end of September. McKeon is the latest in a series of senior lawmakers to announce his retirement. A total of 16 congressmen have announced they would not seek reelection at the end of this term. Rumors have swirled for months that McKeon was likely to retire. His longtime chief of staff, Bob Cochran, left his office in late 2012 and two local...(Read Full Post)