Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Andrei Cherny stepped down from that post Monday in order to run for Congress in the 9th district.

The seat is a tossup, and two other Democrats have thrown their hat into the ring. They are former state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and state Sen. David Schapira.

“It is a bittersweet moment, but I have decided to step down as chair of the Arizona Democratic Party,” Cherny wrote in a letter to state Democrats.

Rep. Ben Quayle (R) was just barely drawn into the 9th even though a substantial number of his constituents are in the new 6th district. Speculation is rampant among Arizona GOP insiders that Quayle will run in the 6th against fellow Republican Rep. David Schweikert.

Republicans interested in running in the 9th are generally laying low until Quayle makes a decision. Businessman and Air National Guard Captain Travis Grantham officially entered the GOP race Jan. 11.  Former Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors member Don Stapley are names mentioned as other possible GOP candidates.