Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan’s decision to retire rather than seek re-election puts a seat that was in the Solid Democratic column into the Solid Republican column. The presumptive Republican nominee is Gov. John Hoeven, who Republicans had been recruiting to challenge Dorgan. Hoeven is extremely popular and governs a state with low unemployment and a budget surplus.
Despite the fact that Democrats have done well here in races for the Senate and the House and hold all three of those seats today, North Dakota is more a red than a blue or even a purple state. Democrats don’t have much of a bench here, which makes finding a credible challenger to Hoeven very difficult. State Sen. Tracy Potter has announced, but Democrats hope that former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp will run. Heitkamp has indicated that she won’t make a decision soon.
Democrats’ efforts to hold this seat are decidedly uphill.
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