SD Sen. Tim Johnson Retirement Opens Door for GOP
The anticipated retirement announcement from South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson gives Republicans one of their best chances of picking up a seat in their quest to regain control, as the veteran moderate Democrat steps aside.
Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is expected to say Tuesday afternoon that he will not seek a fourth term in the Senate next year.
The fifth Senate Democrat to call it quits, Johnson was facing a potentially difficult challenge from popular Republican Gov. Mike Rounds and still coping with the constraints of a 2006 brain hemorrhage that left his speech impaired and limited his mobility. The absence of the well-funded former congressman who has never lost an election in this GOP-trending state pushed the race to the top of the priority list, Republican strategists said.
“I believe South Dakota moves into the top slot as the most likely Republican pickup,” said Greg Strimple, a Republican pollster and past consultant to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
More: The Associated Press: SD Sen. Tim Johnson Retirement Opens Door for GOP