Throughout most of his 14 years in the House, would-be successors have been reluctant to run against state Rep. John Lepper, both out of respect and out of fear of losing.

But, now that he has announced that he will not seek re-election this fall, ambitious partisans are free to take their shot at Lepper's seat in the Statehouse.

City Councilor William Bowles, a Democrat, has already said he will give it a go.

Another Democrat, Kate Jackson, said she will make an announcement soon, but for now wanted the spotlight to be on Lepper.

Jackson was one of the rare politicians who was willing to take Lepper on as she ran and lost to him two years ago. Now she could be back for another try, assuring there will be a Democratic primary between her and Bowles. On the Republican side, Mayor Kevin Dumas and former City Council President Barry LaCasse said they are not interested in running.

Dumas was just re-elected last November and LaCasse just took a job as city budget director.

City Councilor Brian Kirby is thought to hold ambitions for higher office, but he lives in the one precinct in Attleboro that is not in Lepper's district.

Democrats have spread the word that Republicans were having trouble finding a candidate, but Susan Blais of the Republican City Committee said that is untrue.

She said a few Republicans are considering a run and she expects at least one of them to announce soon.

Blais said she was not at liberty to disclose who the potential candidates are, but said they are fairly well known.

Still, Democrats sense an opportunity.

The state committee even held a workshop for local candidates in South Attleboro recently.

The Attleboro area is one of the few pro-Republicans regions of the state with four of five state representatives being members of the minority party.

Democrats want to change that, and trends seem to favor them. Voter registration is moving in the direction of Democrats, although independents dominate.

Democrats have gained 1,977 voters in Attleboro since 2004, compared with 1,018 Republicans. In Norton, Democrats added 259 to their rolls, compared with 55 Republicans. The growth among Democrats in Mansfield was almost double that of Republicans, 1,224 to 636 Republicans.

Rehoboth, which had been a Republican town for as long as anyone can remember, now has more Democrats than Republicans.

These developments come on top of polls showing the national Republican Party to be out of favor with voters, leading many veteran Republican congressmen to announce their retirements.

Elsewhere:

Former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. George McGovern was scheduled to come to Attleboro this week to campaign for Hillary Clinton, but he fell, broke his hip and had to cancel.

Clinton had phone banks canvassing the Attleboro area this week leading up to Tuesday's primary, and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank recorded radio ads for her.

State Rep. Betty Poirier joked that the up-coming retirement of Lepper will mean she has no one to criticize her driving on the way to the Statehouse.

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. His commentaries appear in this space on Saturdays. Contact him at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.