State Sen. Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton) is looking more and more like the far and away frontrunner to replace Congressman Henry Hyde if, as expected, Hyde retires.

Roskam is throwing a party tonight for his volunteers, and former attorney general Jim Ryan is billed as the host. Hundreds of people are expected to attend. The guy has built an amazing organization in DuPage and he is quickly rounding up lots of endorsements. There’s a chance that he may even clear the primary field.

Meanwhile, Democrat Christine Cegelis, who ran a respectable campaign against Hyde last year, has already announced that she’s running again. Cegelis posted a long diary entry on the Democratic website Daily Kos yesterday (hat tip to the So-Called Austin Mayor for the link).

As seasoned political advisor told me, if I wanted to win in 2006 I needed to start in November of 2004. I took that advice to heart and kept as much of my organization in place as possible to gear up for what is now will most likely be an open seat in 2006.