Rounds Hires More Staff for Senate Bid #SDSEN | Shop Talk

Former Gov. Mike Rounds hired Jason Williams as his statewide coalitions director for his Senate campaign, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Williams has worked on several South Dakota campaigns, including as Rep. Kristi Noem’s coalitions director when she defeated former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a Democrat, in 2010.

“Jason believes in the importance of personal relationships at the local level,” Rounds said in a release. “Very few individuals understand the effort like he does. We’re grateful to have Jason on board — he’s a tremendous asset.” Full story

Kristi Noem Not Running for Senate #SDSEN

Noem announced Tuesday that she won't run for Senate. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Republicans are now on track to avoid a costly, high-profile primary in the South Dakota Senate race next year.

Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., announced Tuesday she will seek re-election rather than take on former Gov. Mike Rounds in the primary for the open seat. Her move clears a major hurdle in the GOP’s path to picking up the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.

“I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged me and pledged support for a potential campaign for the U.S. Senate,” Noem said in a statement. “However, after spending the weekend discussing our future with Bryon and our children, we decided that right now we are in the best position to serve South Dakota as a member of the U.S. House.”

(See also in Roll Call: Search For Anti-Rounds Candidate Continues In South Dakota) Full story

Mike Rounds Hires Dick Wadhams #SDSEN | Shop Talk

Veteran GOP operative Dick Wadhams has signed on as general consultant for the leading candidate in one of the GOP’s top Senate pickup opportunities.

Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds announced on Wednesday that he has retained Wadhams to help lead his campaign.

The election next year will come a decade after Wadhams’ last triumph in the state — managing now-Sen. John Thune’s 2004 upset of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

“Dick’s reputation as a battle tested strategist, coupled with his insight into South Dakota’s political landscape make him the perfect complement to our team,” Rounds said in a statement. “We’ve been considering individuals to fill this role for months and we continued to come back to Mr. Wadhams.” Full story

Remainders: Recruitment Woes

Here’s what you may have missed “At the Races” on Monday …

• Former Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced on her Facebook page that she will not seek the open Senate seat in South Dakota.
• A GOP poll found that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has a slight lead over likely Republican Senate candidates Joe Miller and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell. Palin, however, has not indicated that she will run for the seat.
• A crowded GOP primary in West Virginia’s 2nd District may be likely. The seat is being vacated by Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, who announced last year that she’s running for the state’s open Senate seat following Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s retirement.
• David Schwarz, a former staffer for Republican Rep. Jack Kingston, is running for his former boss’ seat in Georgia’s 1st District. Kingston left the seat open when he announced he was running for the Peach State’s open Senate seat.

What we’re mulling on Monday …

• Two new polls out in New Hampshire found Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., has a double-digit lead in a hypothetical match-up with former Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.
• North Carolina state Sen. Malcolm Graham became the first candidate to announce he will run for Rep. Mel Watt’s seat. Watt was nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, although he has yet to be confirmed and has yet to resign his seat. If confirmed, Watt’s House departure would likely create a crowded special election.

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Not Running for Senate

Senate Democrats’ primary problem in South Dakota is turning into a recruitment one.

Former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced Monday morning that she will not seek South Dakota’s open Senate seat — taking the party’s top recruit in the state out of the running to hold the seat of retiring Sen. Tim Johnson.

Her decision came just a few days after it became apparent that U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, the senator’s son and Herseth Sandlin’s top possible primary contender, did not intend to run. Democrat Rick Weiland, a former aide to ex-Sen. Tom Daschle, entered the race on Wednesday. He and Johnson’s top supporter both said that Johnson would not run. Full story

Will Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Run for Senate?

Herseth Sandlin might run for Senate. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democrat Rick Weiland’s recent announcement to run for Senate leaves one massive question in the South Dakota race: Will former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., run too?

With Weiland in, the potential for a high-profile primary between Herseth Sandlin and the son of retiring Sen. Tim Johnson appears to be over. Weiland and Ryan Casey, the head of the Draft Brendan Johnson for Senate movement, both told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that they no longer believe Johnson, a U.S. attorney in South Dakota, is interested in seeking his father’s seat.

But Johnson supporters are already being encouraged to back Weiland, which means the potential for a competitive primary remains.

Full story

Super PACs Fuel GOP Civil War

Republicans who have long pushed for campaign finance deregulation are now paying for one of its consequences: the rise of influential conservative super PACs vying for the soul of a fractured GOP.

That Republicans crushed by the 2012 election results are feuding over what went wrong and what comes next is nothing new. Less noticed has been the big money bankrolling GOP factions and the influential new super PACs and outside groups that hold the party’s future in their hands.

More than a dozen such groups have sprung up since Election Day, CQ Weekly reports this week — some promoting centrists, minorities or liberalized immigration rules, others championing conservatives at odds with “establishment” party leaders. As the story notes: Full story

Mike Huckabee Endorses Rounds in GOP Primary #SDSEN

Huckabee endorsed Rounds. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds landed a national conservative endorsement Friday that could help him in a potentially competitive Republican Senate primary.

Mike Huckabee, a Fox News host and former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate, endorsed Rounds for the state’s open-seat Senate race.

South Dakota conservatives are actively seeking an alternative candidate to Rounds in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. None has stepped forward so far, but Rep. Kristi Noem has not taken her name out of consideration yet. Full story

Remainders: Big-Sky Dreams

What you might have missed “At the Races” on Tuesday …

• #MTsen: All eyes are on former Gov. Brian Schweitzer to see if he runs for the Democratic nod in Montana. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., suddenly announced his retirement Tuesday morning, and soon after a top Democratic official confirmed that Schweitzer was already considering the race.
• #HIsen: Rep. Colleen Hanabusa will likely challenge appointed Sen. Brian Schatz for the Democratic nomination in 2014. Notable timing here: Hours earlier, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee indicated it would support Schatz.
• #SDsen: Democrats remain divided over who should run for the open Senate seat: U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson or former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Neither has announced a campaign yet. Meanwhile, former Sen. James Abourezk joined the “Draft Brendan Johnson” movement.
• Shop Talk: A top GOP ad-maker, Nick Everhart, was fired from Rex Elsass’ firm via an email late on April 20.
• Shop Talk: A former campaign manager for Sen. Joe Manchin III has joined the new Democratic consulting firm Mack-Sumner. That firm sound familiar? Earlier this year, conflicting interests split Kevin Mack’s longtime partnership with Jim Crounse and the direct-mail firm Mack|Crounse Group.

Full story

South Dakota: Johnson Makes Retirement From Senate Official

Johnson will not seek re-election in 2014. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson will not seek re-election in 2014, vacating what was already one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable seats.

Johnson announced his retirement Tuesday at his alma mater, the University of South Dakota, in his hometown of Vermillion.

“I will be 68 years old at the end of this term, and it is time for me to say goodbye,” Johnson said at a press conference. He thanked Democrats, Republicans and independents for supporting him in 12 straight general elections since 1978.

Senate Republicans already indicated they will target the seat, which is one of the party’s top pickup opportunities. The GOP already boasts a top-tier candidate in the race, former two-term Gov. Mike Rounds.

However, the GOP primary field could grow as other Republicans, including Rep. Kristi Noem, continue to consider the race. And the Senate Conservatives Fund announced Tuesday that it is seeking an alternative to Rounds, the first outside group to indicate it intends to play in the primary. Full story

Report: Johnson Will Announce Retirement in South Dakota on Tuesday

Johnson will make an announcement Tuesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Tim Johnson will announce his future political plans in South Dakota on Tuesday, and according to a Reuters report, the three-term Democrat will retire.

Johnson will hold a news conference “regarding the 2014 election” at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion — his 1969 alma mater — at 4 p.m. ET, according to a Monday press release from his Senate office. Full story

NRA Targets Democratic Senators Up in 2014 With Local Newspaper Ads

The National Rifle Association will target several senators up for re-election in 2014, including Pryor. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The National Rifle Association will launch a print advertising campaign targeting mostly Democratic senators up for re-election in 2014, according to sources close to the group.

On Thursday, full-page ads are scheduled to run in local newspapers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina and West Virginia. They will be supplemented by digital advertising in these states and 10 others, including Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire and South Dakota.

Additionally, the group has scheduled full-page ads to run Feb. 25 in regional editions of USA Today, reaching parts of 15 states.

The campaign is estimated to cost north of $375,000, sources said. Full story

GOP Outside Group Makes Issue Ad Buy on Fiscal Cliff

The GOP-aligned American Action Network has launched an online advertising campaign urging Beltway policy insiders to support congressional Republicans during the fiscal cliff debate.

The online digital campaign includes Web videos and search, mobile and display ads. The money behind the buy is in the tens of thousands of dollars. The group’s newest Web video features economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who is associated with AAN’s sister organization, American Action Forum.

Holtz-Eakin is a former Congressional Budget Office director and was a top domestic adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., during his 2008 presidential campaign.

Updated 11:29 a.m. | Crossroads GPS is making an effort on this front as well, with a $240,000 local radio ad buy targeting five Democratic senators who are in races Roll Call rates as Tossups.

Those radio spots are airing in target=”_blank”>Alaska, targeting Sen. Mark Begich; target=”_blank”>Louisiana, targeting Sen. Mary L. Landrieu; target=”_blank”>North Carolina, targeting Sen. Kay Hagan; target=”_blank”>South Dakota, targeting Sen. Tim Johnson and West Virginia, targeting Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

South Dakota: Club for Growth ‘Not Focused’ on Rounds

The conservative Club for Growth is taking a hands-off approach to former Gov. Michael Rounds’ Senate bid — at least for now.

“We are not focused on South Dakota’s Senate race at this time, and we do not feel the need to comment on every candidate that announces for office,” said Barney Keller, a spokesman for the group, in response to an email inquiry from Roll Call. “We will continue to watch every race and go through our normal evaluation process.”

That’s good news for Rounds, a Republican who announced his bid against Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Thursday morning. Roll Call rates this race as a Tossup.

Full story

South Dakota: Johnson Promises ‘Winning Campaign’ Against Rounds

Johnson said he will make a formal announcement regarding his re-election later next year. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., said he will make a “formal announcement later next year” about his re-election in a carefully worded statement from his office released Thursday morning.

“As in past campaigns, I will make my formal announcement later next year,” he said. “But I feel great, still have work to do, and I fully intend to put together a winning campaign in the weeks and months ahead.”

Former Gov. Michael Rounds, a Republican, announced Thursday that he’s jumping into the Senate race.His candidacy immediately makes the race competitive, and Roll Call rates it as a Tossup.

“I am here today to ask the people of South Dakota for their support and to allow me to work for them as their United States Senator in 2014,” Rounds said in a statement.

Full story