So says Karen Langley at the Concord Monitor:

News that Gov. John Lynch will not seek re-election next year was welcomed by Rep. David Bates, a Windham Republican who wants to repeal the law that allows same-sex couples to wed in New Hampshire.

Once an opponent of same-sex marriage, Lynch signed the law in June 2009 and later pledged to veto any effort to reverse it. That raised the bar for a repeal bill, which would need the support of two-thirds of each chamber to override the veto.

Even so, Bates said he thinks the chances are good for repeal this year. But if not, he expects the turning of the gubernatorial guard will make the supermajority unnecessary in 2013.

"Now that the governor has been kind enough to step aside, if we don't get the supermajority necessary to override his veto, he's paved the road quite nicely for us to be able to pass it (with) a simple majority," Bates said.