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Republicans waiting as Sen. Johnson recovers

Mary Clare Jalonick and Chet Brokaw, The Associated Press | Posted: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 11:00 pm | (0) Comments

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buy this photo Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., works with Marti Carroll, a physical therapist at National Rehabilitation Hospital, during a recent session. The senator is recovering from a brain hemmorage he suffered last year. Johnson is still in therapy five days a week for several hours each day working on physical, speech and occupational therapy. (Courtesy)

WASHINGTON - Politics is considered sport in South Dakota, a state that has seen some fiercely competitive congressional elections in recent years. But as the next election year approaches, partisans on both sides are uncharacteristically quiet.
They are deferring to Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, who is up for re-election in 2008 but still recovering from a brain hemorrhage he suffered in December. He is not yet able to walk unassisted and is undergoing speech therapy, preparing for an eventual return to the Senate.
It is still unclear whether Johnson will run for re-election - putting Republicans in a difficult position.
Johnson, who won re-election in 2002 by just 524 votes, was considered one of the country's top Democratic Senate targets before he fell ill. But Republicans, hoping to regain the Senate where Democrats have a very narrow majority, are now stuck playing the waiting game.
"From the Republican standpoint, of course, the longer Sen. Johnson delays a final announcement of his decision whether to stand or not to stand handicaps them, the Republicans, in fundraising," said Bill Richardson, political science professor at the University of South Dakota.
South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Karl Adam said the party is still energized and engaged in next year's election.
"I think it's just a matter of time and we'll have more definitive answers," he said.
Johnson was rushed to the hospital Dec. 13 after becoming disoriented during a phone call with reporters and underwent emergency surgery hours later. He was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, a condition that causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst.
His sudden, life-threatening illness attracted attention from all over the country as the Democrats were then a month away from assuming a new one-vote majority. But he has steadily improved since then, moving from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility and then to his Fairfax, Va. home outside of Washington.
Spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said Johnson was "very much anticipating running" and he is working toward that goal.
"He will work from here for a while and then make that decision," she said.
His office has not said when he will return to the Senate, but despite his absence, Johnson is on track to run for re-election if he decides to. As Republicans wait, he has raised more than $660,000 in the first three months of the year through fundraisers held by many of his Senate colleagues. He had raised $2.2 million by the end of March, a similar amount to what he had at the same point in his last Senate campaign. And his campaign has recently hired two new employees, according to his office.
Johnson is also working from home and his office is sending out news releases on a variety of subjects. He is acting like a candidate, frequently commenting through his office on farm issues, energy issues and Indian affairs.
Adam said the GOP is discussing the race with several potential candidates but none have stepped forward yet.
"(Johnson) is our senator," he said. "We all respect that, and we're all interested in his well-being. But at the same time, it doesn't give us any less focus on what our goals are in the fall of 2008."
He did not shed any light on whether the party's best hope - Republican Gov. Mike Rounds - may take on Johnson. Rounds has said he's "not looking for anything" and he enjoys his job in Pierre.
"I know he's weighing his options, and I know he's got a very aggressive second term in office and South Dakotans looking to continue to fulfill that," Adam said.
Some South Dakotans are restless.
In a letter to the editor of the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, Randy E. Amundson of Sioux Falls wrote that it's time Johnson leveled with the state's voters.
"Is he capable of representing us in the not-too-distant future? If so, he should extend us the courtesy of letting us know when we can expect him to start earning his salary," Amundson wrote.
In an interview, Amundson said he has voted for Johnson in the past and no one asked him to write the letter. But Rick Hauffe, executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, dismissed such criticism as partisan baiting.
"I think those who attempt to float those kinds of nasty balloons are going to find them blowing up in their faces," he said.
The party expects Johnson to run, Hauffe said.
"All reports coming out of Tim's inner circle are that Tim is making a great deal of progress," he said. "His speech is coming back. He's working on the physical therapy for his walking."
Those closest to the senator are "not operating under the hope he's going to come back. They're operating under the firm belief he will be on the campaign trail."
By all accounts, Johnson's mental capacity has not suffered, but he is working on recovering his speech and movement on his right side. His office has been renovated to make room for a scooter that Johnson is expected to use when he returns, and doctors say his current therapy is aggressive.
"I think the question is how he's doing," said veteran Democratic strategist Peter Fenn, who has worked on campaigns in the state but not with Johnson. "If his mind is coming back and he can perform his duties, then I think he would have a successful race … his commitment to people there is very strong."
If Johnson decides not to run, Fenn said, Democrats are still in a good position with Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, the state's only member of the House. Herseth Sandlin has proved popular in the state and is considered next in line on the Democratic ticket.
Democratic consultant Jenny Backus said it "doesn't matter what you look like or what you sound like" as long as voters think Johnson is doing his job.
"I think people will give you all the breaks in the world as long as they think you are doing everything you can for them," she said.
But Rich Galen, a Republican strategist, said it's too early to speculate on the GOP field.
"At some point the Republicans are going to have to pull the trigger and say let's turn up the heat here," he said. "But that's four or five months down."
Fundraising should not be a major concern for South Dakota Republicans, since the state's media markets are not that expensive, Galen said.
"We're not talking about a Senate race in Texas or California or New York," he said.

Posted in Top-stories on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 11:00 pm

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