Pressler endorses Sen. Johnson, the man who beat him in 1996

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Monday, October 27, 2008

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Former South Dakota Sen. Larry Pressler, a Republican who lost his U.S. Senate seat to Tim Johnson in 1996, has voted for Johnson in his re-election race against GOP challenger Joel Dykstra.

Pressler, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area but maintains his voting status in South Dakota, said Monday that he voted for Johnson on an early ballot when he was back in Sioux Falls last week.

The vote had more to do with personal admiration than politics, Pressler said.

"I voted for the guy who beat me," he said. "But I felt kind of good when I walked out of the courthouse."

In the contentious campaign against Johnson in 1996, Pressler lost in his bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate, ending a 22-year congressional career that included two U.S. House terms.

Pressler said he is still "very much a Republican" but has been inspired by Johnson's recovery from a life-threatening brain hemorrhage almost two years ago and admires the Democrat for his ongoing battle to overcome speech problems.

"I just admire so much his struggle, and I've gone to see him a few times and feel like I've gotten close to him."

Johnson's campaign issued a news release Monday announcing that Pressler had endorsed Johnson. Pressler said he wouldn't call it an official endorsement, but rather a reflection of his personal admiration for the senator and his courageous recovery.

Pressler himself worked as a teenager and even into his college years to overcome stuttering problems. He said that personal experience helps him understand and appreciate the frustrations that Johnson faces and is overcoming with his speech.

"I had 15 years when my brain was going faster than my mouth. I know that feeling," Pressler said.

Pressler, 66, said he has shared a moment of prayer with Johnson. Pressler stopped to visit when Johnson was in the hospital recovering from his brain injury. Pressler also went to Johnson's Senate office last summer. They didn't talk about how Pressler would vote this fall, he said.

"I didn't tell him that I was going to vote for him, and of course he wouldn't ask," Pressler said.

Dykstra said Monday afternoon that Pressler's wife, Harriett, had sent him a letter of support and a donation early in his campaign. Larry Pressler's vote for Johnson was unusual, especially considering the personal attacks launched against him during his 1996 campaign against Johnson, Dykstra said.

"In 1996, they cast aspersions on his (Pressler's) health and ability to serve," Dykstra said. "I guess they've patched that up and have a personal relationship now. I'm not going to quibble with that. I don't have any ill will toward Sen. Pressler. And I trust Sen. Johnson won't have any ill will toward the hundreds of thousands of people who are going to support me next week."

According to scientific polling, Johnson has a substantial lead over Dykstra heading into the Nov. 4 election.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com