- Tim Johnson
Tim Johnson
Sen. Tim Johnson is ready to talk about his plans for 2014.
South Dakota’s senior senator will announce if he will seek a fourth term at a press conference at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Al Neuharth Media Center on the University of South Dakota campus in Vermillion.
It is widely believed, and several media outlets are reporting, that Johnson will announce he will not seek re-election next year.
The senator declined to comment Monday. His communications director, Perry Plumart, also declined to offer any insight on his boss’ plans.
“You will hear from Senator Johnson tomorrow,” Plumart said in an email to The Daily Republic.
Johnson is headed home for this announcement. He grew up in Vermillion, graduated from high school there, and then attended and graduated from USD.
Johnson, 66, is in his third term in the Senate after five terms in the U.S. House and four in the state Legislature. He has never lost an election.
But a severe brain hemorrhage in December 2006, which resulted in brain surgery and months of recovery, left him weakened. Johnson was re-election in 2008, but since that time he has only made a few, carefully controlled appearances in South Dakota.
He remains partially paralyzed, uses a cane, a motorized scooter and assistance from staffers to get around. His speech is impaired and often slurred.
However, his Democratic Senate colleague still elected him chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
Johnson has repeatedly said he feels “great,” but he has declined to reveal if he would run again. Speculation ramped up in recent weeks, and on Thursday Johnson said he would announce his plans this week.
If he does not run, former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin or U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, the senator’s son, are widely viewed as the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat.
Former Gov. Mike Rounds is the sole declared candidate for the seat. The Republican announced his plans in November, and Tim Johnson said then he fully intended to mount “a winning campaign” in 2014.
Rep. Kristi Noem, a Republican in her second term, has said she has not decided what she will do in 2014. Some are urging her to challenge Rounds in a GOP primary.
A Public Policy Polling poll released Thursday showed Johnson trailing both Rounds and Noem. He still has more than $1.2 million in his campaign coffers, but that may be cash that is never used to help Tim Johnson win one more term in office.
Tags: tim johnson, election 2014, news, updates, politics, state, congress
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