Posted on 05/25/2007 3:33:04 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Under normal circumstances, the 2008 contest for the Senate seat held by South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson would already be in full swing. There was never a doubt that Republican strategists would put the race on their short list of serious takeover targets for the 2008 campaign, given South Dakota’s overall Republican leanings and Johnson’s razor-thin 2002 victory over GOP challenger John Thune (who now holds the state’s other Senate seat).
But the fight for the seat became secondary in December, as Johnson suffered a brain hemorrhage that put him in a fight for his life. Only now — after nearly five months of hospitalization, in-patient rehabilitation and recuperation at home appears to have Johnson on the road to recovery — are potential Republican candidates starting to venture into the field for next year’s Senate contest.
Johnson has been easing back into his legislative duties and is briefed regularly by his chief of staff, according to Julianne Fisher, the senator’s spokeswoman. And his campaign treasury has grown even in his absence from the fundraising circuit. Democratic Senate colleagues helped raise $665,000 in the first quarter of 2007 for Johnson’s re-election campaign, according to his filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and his $1.2 million on hand as of April 1 appears an ample nest egg for this very early stage of the election cycle.
But uncertainty remains, as Johnson has not yet announced whether he definitely will seek re-election. And state Republicans have decided they have to move on with their planning now that the incumbent’s health situation has stabilized.
“We all pray for Sen. Johnson’s full recovery. It’s a difficult situation, but we are forging ahead and intend to have a formidable candidate for that race whether Sen. Johnson decides to run again or whether he sits
(Excerpt) Read more at cqpolitics.com ...
From the content of the article, it looks like Governor Mike Rounds won’t be running. If not, than Tim Johnson’s chances improve immensely.
From the article, it also seems like Kephart is another Mike Dewine. Dykstra seems like the conservative in the race.
If it’s a choice between Dykstra and Kephart, than Dykstra is the better choice.
It’s rather absurd for someone to suggest that only a RINO can defeat a ‘Rat in South Dakota.
Well, there’s a RINO in Nebraska(Hagel) but Tom Osborne will take him out next year. Regardless of who runs, it will be a close race.
If Rounds doesn’t run, we lose the seat, it’s that simple.
Osborne ? But he IS a RINO. Gov. Heineman exposed him as such. Even his running mate defected to the rodents after he lost the primary. We need a real Conservative to succeed Hagel, and any of the 3 current Reps would fit the bill.
Osborne seems conservative to me, why is he a rino?
I thought he was, too, but he revealed himself to be soft on illegals (and since that has moved into becoming the premier yardstick for Conservatives today...) What put Heineman over the top in the primary was his opposition to granting of resident college tuition rates to the children of illegals. Osborne favored it, and it blew up in his face.
BTW, where did you hear Osborne had any intention of running for the Senate ? He’d be nearly 72 upon taking office, a bit too long in the tooth for embarking on a Senate career. The only 3 Republicans considering it (or having declared) is the AG, Jon Bruning, ex-Rep. and fmr. Omaha Mayor Hal Daub, and a businessman named Tony Raimondo. I’d personally prefer ex-AG Don Stenberg, who narrowly lost to Ben Nelson in 2000.
Well, the Senate has 2 ‘rats in their 80s(Lautenberg and Byrd, wastes of space, I know) so 72 isn’t all that bad. If Osborne is really that soft on illegals, then he shouldn’t waste his time running for anything.
It’s one thing once they’re in, but starting at that age is problematic, because it tends to assure that they won’t be around long enough to reach any sort of seniority or get a committee chairmanship (and it ends up being a key argument for a younger opponent).
Lautencorpse was 58 when he entered the Senate in ‘82 (his GOP opponent in that election, the liberal RINO Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick, was 72 — and that was her major liability, since had she been elected, she would’ve only served 9 years before her death in 1992).
Byrd was all of 41 when he won as a sitting Congressman in the rodent landslide of 1958, defeating the 63 year old Conservative Republican incumbent Chapman Revercomb (the last elected GOP Senator to date in WV).
Assuming Rounds doesn’t run, this is shaping up as another Republican failure.
Christ, I’m tired of reading such stories. Our party is really in the tank.
Rinos have a habit of saying that only they can win and conservatives always loose.
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