Today, our friend Chris Saxman announced he would not be running for re-election to the House. He’ll be missed.

Chris is that rare breed of partisan who always takes the issues seriously–but never takes himself seriously. During long and less-than-riveting floor sessions, he and I spent more time than we ever want our constituents to know exchanging emails. I thought he was funny. He thought I was funny. That was about all it took to cement a friendship.

Through his years in the House, Chris also managed to find time to coach his kids’ athletic teams, drive a lot of car pools, and, oh yeah, chair the McCain campaign in Virginia.

He says he’s going to spend more time working on education issues. I say that as well.

I sure hope that means we’ll get a chance to work together in the future.