Gov. Hoeven (R) to jump into ND Senate race

[Tender Branson]

Hoeven planning to run for the Senate

Republicans look like they’ve landed their top recruit in the North Dakota Senate race: Popular Gov. John Hoeven is letting his political allies know that he’s preparing to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)

North Dakota Republican party chairman Gary Emineth told POLITICO that he spoke with Hoeven’s senior staff soon after learning of Dorgan’s retirement, and they informed him that Hoeven is preparing to jump in the Senate race once he deals with family issues back home.

“I expect Gov. Hoeven to get in, and he’s going to work through personal issues relating to his family, but I would be shocked if he’s not in the Senate race soon,” Emineth said. “He’s been showing signs of running and getting things cued up in preparation for a decision. It’s inevitable, and the decision by Dorgan showed he was expecting Governor Hoeven to get into the race.”

Hoeven's decision gives Republicans an excellent shot at winning back the Senate seat in the solidly Republican state.

He won a third term in 2008 with 74 percent of the vote, running well ahead of John McCain, who took 53 percent statewide in the presidential race.

Hoeven, who is serving his ninth year in Bismarck and is the longest-serving chief executive in the country, has benefited from the state’s relative economic prosperity in the midst of the recession. North Dakota has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

“The contrast with what’s happening in Washington with Congress running up record deficits compared to North Dakota, where Hoeven got elected to a third term with budget surpluses is stark,” Emineth said.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0110/Hoeven_planning_to_run_for_the_Senate.html

[You kip if you want to...]

Oh, I TOTALLY didn't see that coming.

[minionofmidas]

Was that really surprising enough to merit a thread of its own? Sam? Joe?

[Hash]

Safe Republican. Even Pomeroy would be foolish to jump in now, since the seat is pretty much lost with Hoeven.

If Hoeven could trounce Dorgan, he can trounce Pomeroy.

[Coburn In 2012]

This is good news as hoeven is a heavenly candidiate.  Ha!  No seriously he is very much in the vain of Reagan or Bush in being a solid fiscal conservative and not a nannystater.  He will sail to victory.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

This is good news as hoeven is a heavenly candidiate.  Ha!  No seriously he is very much in the vain of Reagan or Bush in being a solid fiscal conservative and not a nannystater.  He will sail to victory.

If you were real, I'd explain how wrong you were. Hoeven is a former Democrat who was elected initially on the promise of a plan to completely cover college tuition costs for instate residents. But you aren't, so why bother.

[HAnnA MArin County]

Safe Republican.

I heard or read somewhere that Earl Pomeroy is staying in the House. Probably a wise decision.

Byron Dorgan said tonight on The Ed Schultz Show that he thinks he would win if he ran in November, so clearly his retirement isn't based on politics alone. But this is a top-tier recruit for the GOP in North Dakota, already a red state, in an off-year that's shaping up to be a bad one for Democrats, and the Democratic bench is thin in North Dakota, so the very popular Hoeven has this one in the bag.

[Eraserhead]

I seriously doubt Dorgan thinks he would have won in reality. He was smart enough to read the writing on the wall.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

What's he going to say? "Yeah, I was gonna get my ass kicked, so I turned tail and ran."

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A "Red" state. I thought after held McCain to 53% in 2008 it was becoming a swing state?

I told you guys that 2008 was likely similar to 1988 and these states like to get close because of certain conditions then become more Republican again.

[Franzl]

I like Hoeven, he will be an acceptable senator.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I like Hoeven, he will be an acceptable senator.

Yea I like him too.

[Badger]

A "Red" state. I thought after held McCain to 53% in 2008 it was becoming a swing state?

I told you guys that 2008 was likely similar to 1988 and these states like to get close because of certain conditions then become more Republican again.

Had Hoeven not run, Dorgan almost certainly would've been reelected, as will Pomeroy, and Conrad remains popular. This seat being near-certain R+1 is all Hoeven.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Before Dorgan's retirement and poll numbers, I actually thought Dorgan would narrowly beat Hoeven (This was a month ago or so.)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A "Red" state. I thought after held McCain to 53% in 2008 it was becoming a swing state?

I told you guys that 2008 was likely similar to 1988 and these states like to get close because of certain conditions then become more Republican again.

Had Hoeven not run, Dorgan almost certainly would've been reelected, as will Pomeroy, and Conrad remains popular. This seat being near-certain R+1 is all Hoeven.

I was talking about in Presidential races. Complete Democratic dominance of the State's delegation wasn't going to last anyway. As soon as Conrad retires, I will bet the GOP will be able to take that seat as well. I also think we should challenge Pomeroy and at least give him a run for his money. It is shaping up to be an anti-incumbent year afterall and we might just strike gold.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Just to confirm why Dorgan got out:

http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/7/822795/-ND-Sen:-Hopelessly-obsolete-poll

54-37 Hoeven, previously 57-35 Dorgan. That's one hell of a swing.

[Vepres]

Hoeven seems like a great guy (from what little I know of him), so he deserves to win the open seat.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

As surprising as Paul McCartney's inconsistent solo career.

[Psychic Octopus]

Excellent to see that mustache in the Senate.

[Rococo4]

official announcement tonight in Bismarck

[RIP Robert H Bork]

No surprise.