Posted on 03/25/2013 1:40:53 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, does not plan to run for re-election when his current term ends in 2014, sources close to the matter and key Capitol Hill staffers said on Monday.
Johnson, 66, joined the Senate in 1997 and has been widely expected to retire at the end of his term. He plans to make the announcement on Tuesday, the sources said. Johnson's staff said that he will hold a press conference at the University of South Dakota on Tuesday.
His retirement would leave a vacant seat in a conservative-leaning state that could be difficult for Democrats to defend as they try to protect their majority in the Senate.
Political analysts expect Johnson's son, Brendan Johnson, who is South Dakota's U.S. attorney, to emerge as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2014 election. The younger Johnson has not announced any formal plans to seek the Senate seat.
Former Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who lost a bid for reelection in 2010, is another leading choice to run if the incumbent senator retires.
Johnson's exit from Congress would also create an opening at the top of the banking committee, which he has led since 2011. Currently, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed is the second-ranking Democrat on the panel.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
He has been mostly useless since his major stroke, and should have retired then. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has turned from RINO to outright Liberal Democrat since his stroke.
Good news! get rid of the vile.
Interesting that they’ve got Junior all positioned to take over.
That’s seven retirements, five democrats, two repubicans.
Kristi Noem?
Not to worry. The Reps will figure out how to lose again just like they did in North Dakota.
Mike Rounds has already announced but Noem would be awesome. Any represenative from SD has won statewide so is just as good as a governor.
Wasn’t Kristi Noem the one that went big time for ethanol subsidies? I was so disappointed that one of our Tea Party candidates (I’m pretty sure she was one) folded like that.
RE: The Reps will figure out how to lose again just like they did in North Dakota.
The mainstream press can just ask one question — Do you support abortion in the case of pregnancy after rape?
As Dana Loesch says, the correct answer is:
"Under no circumstances do I support the death penalty for the pre born"
Whatever you do, please don’t tell Karl Rove...
I’d like to see Rich Sattgast run for the seat.
I’d like to see Rich Sattgast run for the seat.
PPP released a poll last week showing Herseth as a much stronger GE candidate than Tim Johnson (or his son, for that matter), so I was expecting this announcement soon.
The same poll had former Gov. Mike Rounds running much stronger than Congresswoman Kristi Noem. I know, I know, it’s PPP, but I am by no means surprised that two-term Gov. Rounds would run ahead of Noem (who beat Herseth by a rather narrow margin in über-Republican 2010) in the general.
Note to the Republican challenger: Refer any and all MSM rape questions to counsel first. :)
“The dems are dropping like flies.”
This is a good class of seats coming up. This is the same class of seats where we gained two seats in ‘96 and took back senate contol after Jeffords betrayal in ‘02. In ‘08, the democrats won ten seats in Obama’s wave election. So there are ten democratic freshmen and five democratic retirements. Very good sign.
By contrast, the 2012 class was the same class where the republicans took control in ‘94, then lost five seets to a 50-50 senate in ‘00 (before Jeffords betrayal), and then the democrats took six seats six years later.
The third class, the 2010 class was the same class where the republicans gained four seats in the ‘04 presidential year and broke even in ‘98.
So 2014 looks to be a very good year, much better statistically and historically than 2012.
It's amazing how that keeps happening to Democrats!
-PJ
Now, if only the GOP had a senator or even a candidate that knew something about banking. They don’t.
In fact, I could say that the GOP has the most clueless bunch of neophytes and idiots on the subject of banking and finance I’ve ever seen.
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