Free Republic

Bret Baier just reporting Byron Dorgan will not run for the Senate this year. I'm not seeing it yet on Fox News, yet.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) "dropped a late-day bombshell, announcing he will retire when his term ends this year," USA Today reports. "Dorgan's announcement represents an opportunity for Republicans: North Dakota is a Republican-leaning state, where President Obama got just 45% of the vote last year."

“Although I still have a passion for public service and enjoy my work in the Senate, I have other interests and I have other things I would like to pursue outside of public life. I have written two books and have an invitation from a publisher to write two more books. I would like to do some teaching and would also like to work on energy policy in the private sector. “So, over this holiday season, I have come to the conclusion, with the support of my family, that I will not be seeking another term in the U.S. Senate...

If you needed more confirmation that entrenched, nine-term incumbent Earl Pomeroy is in a lot of trouble in the upcoming election year (after ignoring his constituents and casting a vote for an unpopular health care bill this last year, among other things) I have the line on some private polling that shows Pomeroy floundering even against an unnamed opponent.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan may have a serious problem on his hands if Republicans recruit Governor John Hoeven to run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota next year. The first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 telephone survey of likely voters in North Dakota finds the popular Republican governor leading Dorgan by 22 points – 58% to 36%. Just six percent (6%) are undecided in that senatorial contest. Part of the challenge for Dorgan is the health care legislation working its way through Congress. Dorgan, along with every Democrat in the Senate, has voted to move the legislation forward and...

Unless you carefully unpack the history of the last 30 years of elections in the Dakotas, it has to strike you as bizarre that the Democrats hold five of the six federal offices in those states (3 of 4 Senators, both Representatives). That may change next November, according to a new poll by RasmussenReports. Three-term Senator Byron Dorgan trails Governor John Hoeven by a 22 points, 58%-36%. 30% of North Dakotans favor the health care bill, while 64% oppose it. This makes it unlikely that Dorgan's numbers will improve after he casts at least five tiebreaking votes for the bill.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan may have a serious problem on his hands if Republicans recruit Governor John Hoeven to run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota next year. The first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 telephone survey of likely voters in North Dakota finds the popular Republican governor leading Dorgan by 22 points – 58% to 36%. Just six percent (6%) are undecided in that senatorial contest. Part of the challenge for Dorgan is the health care legislation working its way through Congress. Dorgan, along with every Democrat in the Senate, has voted to move the legislation forward and...

Call it the Wages of ObamaCare. When only 30% of a state’s likely voters support the one piece of legislation on which the incumbent has worked for most of the year, they tend to get a little chippy about the idea of sending him back to Washington. When paired up with Republican Governor John Hoeven in a 2010 midterm election, Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan trails by 22 points, 58%-36%: Incumbent Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan may have a serious problem on his hands if Republicans recruit Governor John Hoeven to run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota next year. The...

When only 30% of a state’s likely voters support the one piece of legislation on which the incumbent has worked for most of the year, they tend to get a little chippy about the idea of sending him back to Washington. When paired up with Republican Governor John Hoeven in a 2010 midterm election, Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan trails by 22 points, 58%-36%: Incumbent Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan may have a serious problem on his hands if Republicans recruit Governor John Hoeven to run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota next year. The first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 telephone...

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), one of the most committed broadcast watchdogs on Capitol Hill, is enjoying a 69% approval rating among citizens of North Dakota, despite their Republican tastes when it comes to presidential candidates. But he may be vulnerable nevertheless, if the even more popular Republican Gov. John Hoeven decides to mount a challenge. Dorgan entered the House in 1980, and moved up to the Senate in 1992. According to Politico, he has never faced a tough election. But all bets would be off if Hoeven decides to run for the seat. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has conducted...

Republican Gov. John Hoeven, who has avoided questions about whether he will challenge Democrat Byron Dorgan for his U.S. Senate seat, says he is likely to decide by early September whether he will make the race. North Dakota's Republican state chairman, Gary Emineth, said he hoped to recruit Republicans to challenge Dorgan and North Dakota's Democratic congressman, Earl Pomeroy, by Labor Day, Sept. 7. Candidates against both men will need a long head start on campaigning and fundraising to improve their chances of winning, Emineth said. Hoeven, in an interview, said Emineth's goal is reasonable and said his own decision...