It's good news that Gov. John Hoeven is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 against Byron Dorgan. In 2006, when I received the nomination for the U.S. Senate, I expected someone else to throw their hat in the ring. No one did.

I didn't want to lose, but the thought of no one running against the liberal Kent Conrad was enough for me. Conservative beliefs presented well will beat liberals' ideologies every time. Therein lies the problem: Presenting conservative Republican beliefs well.

When you are running against a 20-year incumbent who has more than $5 million (well over 90 percent of that from out of state) and you're firing up a campaign just seven months before an election, your message gets drowned. This we expected, but we chose to run the race anyway. Why? Because we could and our cause was just.

Over three years ago, our North Dakota delegation couldn't wait for Democrats to gain control. Today, they have the control they craved and cannot, and will not, stop their Democrat colleagues in Washington from passing everything from cap-and-trade to trying to turn our health care system into a bureaucratic nightmare. They are also in lockstep with the most liberal, big government president in our nation's history. Not challenge that? No way.

The reality is that a victorious Republican candidate needs a well-funded, well-organized machine. Is Hoeven what some would call a true conservative? No. Is he a liberal who thinks government knows best? Absolutely not. Does he think that there are roles that government can have with incentives for businesses and individuals to succeed? Yes. Will he stand up for the unborn? I believe so. Will he work to rein in useless liberal spending? You bet. Will he help people in North Dakota and across the nation return to independence and productive freedom? I would say yes.

In 2006, Hoeven called me and encouraged me to run for the U.S. Senate. Now it's my turn. Go for it, John.