Free Republic

A political action committee says it will spend $1 million to support Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Rick Weiland. Mayday PAC says it'll begin running TV ads Tuesday in Sioux Falls and Rapid City media markets. The super PAC has the self-proclaimed goal of getting "big money" out of politics. It was founded by Harvard University professor and political activist Lawrence Lessig, who was born in Rapid City.

South Dakota Democrats are playing a tough hand in the Senate race, but they thought they could count on a wild card — former Sen. Larry Pressler — to help the contest break their way. Pressler seems to have other plans. Democrats already faced long odds to hold retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson’s seat. Obama lost South Dakota by 18 points last cycle, and the state marks the GOP’s best pick-up opportunity in its 6-seat quest to win the majority. The front-runner, popular former GOP Gov. Mike Rounds, faces several foes: Democrat Rick Weiland; state Sen. Gordon Howie, a conservative...

South Dakota state Rep. Stace Nelson (R) met with a handful of national conservative groups last week in Washington — an indication they continue to search for a challenger to former Gov. Mike Rounds (R) in the state’s open Senate race. The Republican primary field is already wide, and a bruising contest could jeopardize a pickup that is crucial to GOP efforts to take back the Senate in 2014. Nelson met with Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) office, Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist and the Club for Growth. “To say things went well is an understatement,” Nelson told The Hill....

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) will not seek reelection in 2014, The Hill has confirmed, putting another red-state seat up for grabs in the battle for control of the Senate. Johnson, who is serving his third term, will announce the news on Tuesday at the University of South Dakota, his former school. Johnson will be the fifth Senate Democrat to retire this election cycle. The decision gives Republicans another prime pickup opportunity as they work to win back control of the Senate. Republicans need to gain six seats to flip control of the upper chamber in 2014. Mitt Romney carried South...

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota intends to announce plans to retire when his term ends next year, Democratic officials told The Associated Press on Monday. Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2006 and later returned to the Senate and won re-election in 2008 while sometimes using a motorized scooter. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt Johnson's formal announcement, expected Tuesday in South Dakota. His departure gives Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in a deeply conservative state. Johnson is...

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...