The 2010 election may be starting sooner than most North Dakotans expected - more than a year earlier, that is.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., will unveil a 60-second, television advertisement throughout the state starting Monday during the 6 p.m. news, said Wayne Kranzler, CEO of the Bismarck advertising firm Kranzler Kingsley. The ad will run for two weeks.

Kranzler said the ad will be biographical in nature.

The three-term Democrat is running for re-election in 2010 in what could be a competitive race if Republican Gov. John Hoeven decides to challenge him.

The governor has said he is holding to no timeline on whether he decides to run. Meanwhile, North Dakota GOP Chairman Gary Emineth has pushed for a Sept. 7 announcement.

Former foe says

Hoeven is a no

Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota's former attorney general and 2000 Democratic opponent to Hoeven, wrote in a Thursday blog post for www.kfgo.com that she thinks the three-term governor won't challenge Dorgan.

"The longer he waits to make a decision the less likely it is that he will run, and if he does run, the less likely it is that he will be successful," Heitkamp wrote. "In any case, Hoeven would be wise to heed the advice of the state Republican Party chair who is telling him that 'time's a-wasting.'"

Heitkamp said Hoeven would potentially face a fundraising hurdle, but GOP officials have insisted fundraising would not be a problem for the popular governor who has been wooed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Political observers say the election would be one of the most competitive in the nation, billed as a potential $20 million race.

Conservative bloggers also are putting the pressure on Hoeven to make up his mind, saying the GOP will lose valuable time to find a replacement candidate if Hoeven does not run.

Meanwhile, the Williston Herald wrote an op-ed this week saying it's unfair to the governor to expect him to make up his mind by a set deadline.

"Hoeven is sincere when he states that making a Senate run is a major decision for his family," the Herald editorialized. "Secondly, it's also a major decision for this state, something he doesn't take lightly."

Conrad a maybe

on reconciliation

A lot will happen between now and the final vote on the health care package later this year.

And if it comes down to it, the Democratic leadership in the Senate has one more trick up its sleeve if no consensus is reached: reconciliation, the procedure that would allow the Senate to bypass the 60-vote hurdle to close debate before voting on the bill, meaning only 51 votes would be needed.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who voted to include the potential provision earlier this year, has said he opposes the idea of it because it would likely strip the bill of many important provisions. On Thursday, Conrad said he wouldn't necessarily be a "no" vote if the procedure is used.

"I'm not a fortuneteller, I don't know what will be presented as we go forward," Conrad said. "I have argued throughout this entire year that reconciliation is not an optimal choice for how to proceed."

Conrad said if the Senate uses the reconciliation procedure, then the Senate parliamentarian would strike out provisions not considered "deficit reducing," including many of the insurance market reforms, which would leave health care reform resembling "Swiss cheese."

Questions

If you have any questions about the health care proposals in Congress or about the debate in general, e-mail them to me by Tuesday evening and I will try to answer as many questions as possible for next Saturday's issue.

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@;bismarcktribune.com.)