Should we expect more surprises in the Senate?

Buried in Newsweek's very recent interview with Idaho Governor Otter is this statement:

We’ve now got five Republicans [retiring or resigning], and I guess there’s a few more that may make a statement, from what [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell’s told me.

Otter plainly hints here at the possibility of more Republican seats opening up! But which could those be? At this point, few Senate watchers are expecting any, as most people on the retirement watch list have announced their intentions: John Warner and Chuck Hagel retired, and so did Pete Domenici who had been on this watch list since the beginning of the cycle. The reason his retirement caused such a surprise is that Domenici had started to raise money, leading to the assumption that he would run again.

The last senator who was facing persistent retirement rumors earlier in the year was Mississippi's Cochran, but the conventional wisdom soon became that Cochran would run again (mostly because Cochran's heir apparent, Rep. Pickering, announced he would leave Congress next year, which he presumably would not have done if Cochran had hinted at the possibility of the Senate seat opening up).

So who are those "few more" Republican who could still pull the plug on a re-election run? The first person that comes to mind, obviously, is Alaska's Ted Stevens. Stevens is in the middle of an FBI investigation for alleged corruption, and the scandal has been picking up in recent weeks. Who knows what the investigation's state will be a year from now. Stevens might even be indicted by then, which has got to worry Republicans who might be pressuring Stevens to step down.

This is the only obvious answer. Otter clearly used plural form, so who else remains? Could we have misjudged Cochran's intentions? An open seat in Mississippi would be a huge opportunity for Democrats who have a strong candidate (Attorney General Moore). Two other faint possibilities are North Carolina's Elizabeth Dole and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander. Both senators faced some rumors they might call it quits early this year, but speculation quieted down as all signs were pointing towards both of them preparing a new run.

In other Senate news, Republicans appear to have a candidate in the Idaho Senate race. Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch, who was already the frontrunner for the seat when it was still believed Craig would resign and Otter would have to appoint his successor, will announce his plans next week. He had declared back in April that he would run if the seat opened up. Now remains to be seen whether other Republicans will jump in the race as well. A divisive primary would be the Democrats' best chance to exploit the Craig scandal further and come away with a pick-up in red Idaho.