Oct 01, 2005 - 06:01:37 CDT
Associated Press Writer
By DALE WETZELBy DALE WETZEL
Gov. John Hoeven said he will not run against U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad next year, depriving Republicans of someone they considered their strongest challenger against the veteran Democratic incumbent.
"A day may come when we ask the people of North Dakota to allow us to serve them in a different capacity, but that time is not now," Hoeven said Friday in a brief statement issued by his office.
Hoeven said in an interview that he and his wife, first lady Mikey Hoeven, decided against the race this week. "We're very focused on serving as governor and first lady, and we think the state is making real progress," Hoeven said.
His announcement was timed, he said, "to make sure there's time for Republicans to recruit a strong candidate" to oppose the incumbent Democrat, who was first elected to the Senate in 1986.
Conrad had said he wasn't worried about a challenge from Hoeven, but he began running a television campaign ad last month, 14 months before the 2006 elections. It touted Conrad's work on energy and highway legislation and promoted his role in helping to ensure the Grand Forks Air Force Base survived a national round of base closings.
He had almost $2.7 million in his campaign treasury in June, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission disclosure filing.
"The fact is, we have worked together effectively as a team for North Dakota, most recently in the fight to save our bases," Conrad said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing to work together to serve the people of our state."
Hoeven was first elected governor in 2000, defeating former Democratic Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp. Hoeven's family owns a Minot bank, and he worked for seven years as president of the state-owned Bank of North Dakota before resigning to run for governor. He had never sought political office before.
He was overwhelmingly re-elected last year, defeating Democrat Joe Satrom with 71 percent of the vote. A recent independent poll, commissioned by The Forum newspaper, showed Hoeven, 48, making a strong showing against the 57-year-old Conrad.
Conrad was North Dakota's tax commissioner when he narrowly defeated Republican Mark Andrews, a veteran of 23 years in Congress, in 1986. Since then, North Dakota's U.S. senators and House member have been Democrats.
Only Rep. Earl Pomeroy, who was first elected to the House in 1992, has had close races against GOP challengers, despite Republican arguments that North Dakota needed a GOP voice in a Republican-controlled Congress.
If Hoeven had waged a campaign, it was uncertain which issues he would have chosen to emphasize. The governor has often allied himself with the Democratic delegation's policy views on trade, agriculture, energy development, national defense and other issues.
Hoeven even declared himself a Democrat in February 1996, praising Conrad and his Democratic colleague, U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, as he did so. At the time, Democratic Party activists were trying to coax Hoeven into running against incumbent GOP Gov. Ed Schafer.
Hoeven subsequently switched parties, and was able to wrest the Republican endorsement for governor in 2000 from Gary Nelson, the Republicans' majority leader in the state Senate.
Schafer said he was not surprised by Hoeven's decision. He was lobbied intensely to run against Dorgan last year, but declined.
"I was hoping John was going to run, but having gone through the same kind of intense study about whether you want to do that or not, I certainly understand his decision," Schafer said. "While I want him to run, I'm not going to argue with him."
Schafer said he expects Hoeven to run for the Senate in the future. Hoeven declined to comment on the possibility.
"I think John would like to end up in Washington, D.C.," Schafer said.
Ken Karls, the state Republican chairman, said Hoeven's decision was "consistent with the governor's deep commitment to the state of North Dakota." The party's efforts to recruit a challenger for Conrad will continue, Karls said.
Dorgan called Hoeven's move "the right decision," while David Strauss, the state Democratic chairman, said he had not believed the governor would run.
"This race, between Conrad and Hoeven, would have been Armageddon," Strauss said. "I think that we've averted a race here that would have involved the expenditure of millions of dollars, and the people of North Dakota will be better off not having to be subjected to it."
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