Congress Daily on the upcoming races.
Congress Daily (Subscription required) had a few comments on the state of South Dakota's Federal Races in their daily update yesterday:
Sen. Tim Johnson's likely bid for a third term could become a top-tier Senate race or a footnote of the 2008 election cycle. The difference depends on whether Republicans can recruit GOP Gov. Mike Rounds to run against Johnson, who won his second term in 2002 by just 524 votes. Rounds won re-election to a second term in 2006 with 62 percent, and afterward said he was not interested in another office. "I have always had a strong desire to stay right here in South Dakota ," Rounds told the Associated Press. "Truly, I'm not trying to be coy about it. I can't think of another job that I'd rather have than working as governor of South Dakota ." Nonetheless, Rounds is likely to become a top GOP recruiting target for 2008 because of South Dakota 's Republican leanings and its inexpensive media markets. Those attributes and the political skills of then-Rep. John Thune drove Republicans to aggressively back Thune in his unsuccessful bid against Johnson in 2002. Thune's near-miss that year led to his ouster of former Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle in 2004. If Rounds opts against a Senate run, Republicans might turn to former Lt. Gov. Steve Kirby, who placed a distant third in the 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary, or beef producer Jarrod Johnson, who won election in 2006 as the state's school and public lands commissioner. Although there has been some media speculation that Tim Johnson would run for governor in 2010, he is expected to run for re-election in 2008. A spokeswoman said Johnson reflects his state and he likes to spend time at home. "People know that. They see him for what he is," the spokeswoman said. "He's not flashy, he's substance. He's a workhorse not a show horse."
-- by Mark Wegner
Comments
Thing is, he won't get the cake walk he got until now from the dems. The 2010 initiaitve hoax will be put through the shredder by people with a lot more money than Billion or Abbot, and there ain't nobody going to forget the phony excuses used to delay two executions until after the re-election campaign.
Rounds' Willie Hortons are the two clowns on death row who owe their continued existance to Rounds.
Besides, R's won't be able to make much of a case about how bad a job Johnson has done, which is usually needed for the removal of an incumbent in this change-resistant state.
PS existence
Rounds does not have the male equipment to run against him. By the way anon 9:48, the 2010 initiative is the one great thing Rounds has done, at least give
Rounds credit for it. It takes guts to put things in writing that you are going to do, and I think South Dakotans will accomplish everything before 2010.
Well I'm sure glad you personally checked him out for us!
Wow! Governor Rounds just won in a landslide and your questioning if he has what it takes?
Seems like a lot of people in South Dakota like Governor Rounds. I believe the people will support him in whatever he decides to do.