How about this idea?
We have the list of resignations.
We need to track where the people are now.
Are any moving to states to run for office?
Are they planning for a long game?
We could start by adding some "where are they now" columns – city, state, place of employment – then look for trends.
I'm curious about border states or key election states. Along the lines of Romney suddenly needing to run for senate. Retire already. Glad to have the R in the column, but not if it's a reboot.