State Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson (D) confirmed to Florida newspapers this week that he intends to challenge Rep. Allen Boyd (D) in the 2010 Democratic primary.

Lawson — who was elected to the state Senate in 2000 by beating Boyd’s cousin — is being forced to retire in 2010 because of term limits. He told the Tallahassee Democrat that “there needs to be a fresh approach” in the 2nd district and that Boyd has forgotten about his constituents back home. He specifically chided Boyd for voting for the financial industry rescue bill last year.

Boyd, who is serving his 7th term in the House, briefly considered running for Florida’s open Senate seat in 2010. He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats.

Boyd’s 2nd district Panhandle seat is conservative territory that Republicans have targeted in the past. The last time Boyd faced a competitive re-election challenge was in 2004, when then-state Rep. Bev Kilmer (R) ran and lost to the Congressman by a 62 percent-to-38 percent margin.