Despite being a Democrat in a Republican state, Sen. Byron Dorgan has had a long and successful career in public service. While Republicans have attempted to recruit a first-tier challenger each time Dorgan faces re-election, they always fall short as would-be challengers opt not to run, intimidated either by the incumbent’s high approval ratings, his hefty campaign war chest, or both. There is probably just one Republican in the state – Gov. John Hoeven – who can give Dorgan a truly competitive race, but the odds are no better than 50-50 that he will run.
Dorgan’s career in politics has spanned four decades. He became the state’s Tax Commissioner in 1969 at the age of 27, and held that job until 1980. He made an unsuccessful bid for the state’s At-Large House seat in 1974, losing to Republican Mark Andrews. When Andrews ran for the Senate in 1980, Dorgan ran for Andrews’ House seat and won with 57 percent. After six terms in the House, Dorgan ran for an open Senate seat in 1992. Republicans did not put up much
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