IMHO, Keenan is positioning himself for a Congressional campaign should Conrad Burns step aside and Denny Rehberg runs to succeed him.
Burns is not going to step aside. He made that clear last week in the Billings Gazette.
That seems more likely.
I don't think it's a good idea for him to run. I don't think he'll win the primary, and if he runs, he'll only make it harder for Burns to win.
But hopefully, it'll make Burns realize he shouldn't run, and the situation you set up would play out fine.