ND GOP Gov Hoeven begins US Senate run; hopes to succeed Democrat Byron Dorgan

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ND GOP Gov Hoeven begins run for US Senate

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven began his run for the U.S. Senate on Monday with appeals for lower taxes, less debt and federal tax incentives to prod business growth and energy production.

Speaking to a boisterous crowd at a meeting of local district Republican organizations, Hoeven, 52, declared he will seek the Republican endorsement to run for a seat now held by Democrat Byron Dorgan, who is not running for his fourth term. Recent polls showed Hoeven leading Dorgan in a hypothetical U.S. Senate race.

“Washington is setting a level of debt on our children and our grandchildren that could burden them for generations,” Hoeven said. “Instead, we need to hold the line on taxes and reduce the tax burden, and we need to create the kind of business climate that will enable our small businesses throughout America to invest, to hire people, and to grow our economy.”

Paul Sorum, a Fargo architect and political newcomer, had been the only declared candidate in the race. Both Republicans and Democrats had expected Dorgan, 67, to run for re-election, but the incumbent announced last week he wanted to teach, write books and pursue other opportunities.

Dorgan’s decision means Democrats will have to defend open Senate seats in at least four states in what could be a challenging election year. They now hold an effective 60-40 majority in the Senate — enough to break Republican filibusters — if they and the chamber’s two independents, who align themselves with Democrats, stick together.

Hoeven said he had decided to run even before Dorgan’s announcement.

“The only difference, I would say, is this accelerated our timeline on getting out and announcing,” Hoeven said in an interview after his speech.

In his remarks, the governor was critical of “cap-and-trade” energy legislation and a federal health care overhaul proposal that Hoeven said would saddle state governments with billions of dollars in extra costs.

He suggested a menu of tax credits that would allow people to “pick your own health insurance plan and your own health care provider” instead of relying on “government-run health care.”

“Washington’s approach is to write a 2,000-page bill that puts the government between you and your doctor. Now, I ask you, is that common sense?” Hoeven asked as the crowd hooted and booed.

Hoeven is considered a moderate Republican and has pushed issues in the North Dakota Legislature that have been supported by Democrats, including expansion of a health-insurance program for poor children and higher salaries for public school teachers.

He is in his third term, which he won in 2008 with 74 percent of the vote, and is the nation’s longest-serving current governor. He took office Dec. 15, 2000, six days before Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

North Dakota Republicans say the soaring federal deficit, President Barack Obama’s health care initiative and support for energy regulation have made things difficult for the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation — Dorgan, Sen. Kent Conrad and Rep. Earl Pomeroy.

The state’s Democratic Party chairman, Mark Schneider, said that if Hoeven were to win the Senate election, the state would have “a freshman senator in the minority party.”

“We’re not surprised by the timing, considering that Hoeven has always changed his mind to best fit the political climate,” Schneider said. “He did start out as a Democrat, after all.”

In a February 1996 letter to newspapers, Hoeven declared he was a Democrat, praised Dorgan and his North Dakota Senate colleague, Kent Conrad, and spoke disparagingly of efforts by “overly partisan members of the Republican Party to cast me as one of their own.”

At the time, Democrats were trying to recruit Hoeven as their candidate to run against then-GOP Gov. Ed Schafer. Hoeven eventually declined the race and became active in Republican politics.

North Dakota Republicans will endorse their preferred candidate for governor at the state party’s convention in Grand Forks March 19-21. The Republican endorsement would mean Hoeven would be guaranteed a spot on the state’s June primary ballot. Any candidate could file petitions to run in the primary, although primary challenges in both the North Dakota Democratic and Republican parties are rare.