Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., was considered to be a potential nominee for energy secretary in President-elect Barack Obama's administration, but that is no longer the case, according to a Saturday Washington Post article.

The article quotes an unnamed source in Obama's transition team as saying Dorgan was considered for the post but is needed more in the U.S. Senate (where Democrats hold a near cloture-proof majority).

Dorgan, the chairman for the Subcommittee on Energy and Water, said Monday that he was not pursing the post in the Obama administration:

"If, as an Obama official indicated, my name was being considered along with others for the energy secretary position, I'm honored by the thought, but I've not had an interest in leaving my Senate job to go to a Cabinet post," he said in a statement. "I'm a senior member on one energy panel and chairman of another, so I am having a significant influence on energy policy through my service in the Senate."

Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza also notes that Dorgan is a Democrat from a Republican-leaning state, a factor that transition officials said played into their decision, noting that Senate Republicans will likely put a lot of pressure on Gov. John Hoeven to throw his hat in for the 2010 Senate race against Dorgan.

Hoeven spokesman Don Canton said the governor is solely focused on the upcoming legislative session, not the 2010 election.

"He's focused on the session and his job as governor," Canton said.

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