Oct 02, 2005 - 06:01:33 CDT
Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls aren't rushing to exploit Gov. John Hoeven's decision to forgo a race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad in 2006.Former Gov. Ed Schafer won't run. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Tony Clark, president of the state Public Service Commission, are seeking re-election to their own jobs. Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman isn't interested.
U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, a former Hoeven aide and state GOP director, will be prosecuting Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. next summer. Wrigley is seeking the death penalty for Rodriguez, who is scheduled for trial in July on charges of kidnapping and causing the death of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin in November 2003.
"I'm committed to being the U.S. attorney, and this is where I'm staying," Wrigley said.
Kevin Cramer, who has unsuccessfully run twice for the U.S. House, said he has not been considering a Senate campaign. Hoeven appointed Cramer to the Public Service Commission in August 2003, and he was elected to a six-year term last year.
"All this time, I've been thinking about John Hoeven doing it," Cramer said of a Senate race. "I haven't even given it a thought, and I'm not going to think about it for now.
"I do not believe this means we can't win that seat," Cramer said. "It means it's going to be a lot harder ... It does put us a little bit behind the eight ball."
Conrad, 57, a former state tax commissioner, was first elected to the Senate in 1986. On June 30, he had $2.69 million in his campaign treasury, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission disclosure filing. From Jan. 1 through June 30 alone, Conrad raised almost $2.1 million, FEC reports show.
He spent $2.6 million on his last campaign, getting 61 percent of the vote in 2000 against Republican challenger Duane Sand, who was running his first statewide race. Sand also ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., last year.
Ken Karls, the state Republican chairman, said the party would continue its efforts to recruit candidates to oppose Conrad, Pomeroy and Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, all of whom are up for re-election next year.
The state Republican Party "will continue to strengthen its grass-roots organization all across North Dakota," Karls said in a statement.
Stenehjem, Johnson and Secretary of State Al Jaeger were elected to two-year terms in 2004 as part of an effort to move some statewide races to years when the governor and president are not on the ballot.
All three must run again next year to keep their jobs. The provision also affects Tax Commissioner Cory Fong, who was appointed to the position four months ago after incumbent Rick Clayburgh resigned.
"We've taken some people out of play who really would have been good to have," said Cramer, who called Stenehjem "somebody who is in a position to win higher office."
The North Dakota Legislature's two Republican majority leaders, Fargo Rep. Rick Berg and Bismarck Sen. Bob Stenehjem, said they were not interested in a U.S. Senate race.
"I think I'm happy right where I am," said Bob Stenehjem, who is the attorney general's brother.
"There were a lot of people who thought Hoeven might run and were maybe standing back," Stenehjem said. "So, maybe now, we'll see who is interested. It will give people time to step forward."
Schafer, who left the governor's office in 2000 after eight years in office, was personally lobbied by President Bush to challenge U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., in 2004. He declined.
Schafer was coaxed to run against Dorgan in 1990, when the Democrat was still in the U.S. House. Schafer used the campaign as a springboard to run for governor two years later.
"I don't have any interest in the legislative branch," Schafer said. "I never did have a strong contemplation. The only time I ever thought about (running for the Senate) was when my friend George Bush, or somebody, is sitting in your face saying, 'You know, we really want you to run.'"
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