Official: Ag Secretary to Run for Senate Published 09/19/2007 - 1:27 p.m. EDT
(AP) By OSKAR GARCIA
Associated Press Writer
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will resign his Cabinet post to run for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska, a state Republican official said Wednesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made, said Johanns was planning to announce his bid to replace retiring Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as early as Monday.
Johanns, a former Nebraska governor, has refused to say publicly if he is even interested in Hagel's Senate seat, but his spokeswoman said Wednesday that he would make a decision soon.
"Secretary Johanns understands that this is a decision he needs to make in the immediate future and he intends to do so," spokeswoman Terri Teuber said by e-mail. She wouldn't say if he planned to run or not.
Johanns would have to resign before announcing his candidacy under the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from being candidates for public office in partisan elections.
It means he could end up leaving before Congress passes a new farm bill, a goal Johanns has said he wanted to reach by the end of the year. The politically popular legislation gives billions in aid to farmers and pays for the nation's nutrition programs, but it expires at the end of this month.
White House spokesman Alex Conant said Wednesday that President Bush would support Johanns no matter what he decides.
"Secretary Johanns is an outstanding secretary of agriculture, and the president will support whatever decision he makes," Conant said.
A run by Johanns would make him the fourth declared Republican candidate for the Senate seat. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, businessman Pat Flynn and former U.S. Rep. and Omaha Mayor Hal Daub are also in the race.
Democrats are hoping that Bob Kerrey, also a former Nebraska governor and former U.S. senator, will return to Nebraska politics and run for Senate. Kerrey, currently president of New School University in New York, has said he would consider it but did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Republicans have said that if Kerrey were to enter the race, his connections and popularity would make him tough to beat.
Johanns, 57, was mayor of Lincoln from 1991 to 1998, when he was elected governor. He won re-election to a second term in 2002. He was named secretary of agriculture in 2005. He has so far refused to say publicly whether he is interested in Hagel's seat, but he has said he and his family will end up back in Nebraska when his Cabinet job is finished.
"Our home is Nebraska. We'll be back," Johanns said Saturday at a state GOP gathering in Lincoln.
Hagel said at the same gathering that Johanns has what a candidate needs: "Mike has been privileged ... to be able to have the trust of the people, and that's what elections are about."
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(AP) By OSKAR GARCIA
Associated Press Writer
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will resign his Cabinet post to run for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska, a state Republican official said Wednesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made, said Johanns was planning to announce his bid to replace retiring Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as early as Monday.
Johanns, a former Nebraska governor, has refused to say publicly if he is even interested in Hagel's Senate seat, but his spokeswoman said Wednesday that he would make a decision soon.
"Secretary Johanns understands that this is a decision he needs to make in the immediate future and he intends to do so," spokeswoman Terri Teuber said by e-mail. She wouldn't say if he planned to run or not.
Johanns would have to resign before announcing his candidacy under the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from being candidates for public office in partisan elections.
It means he could end up leaving before Congress passes a new farm bill, a goal Johanns has said he wanted to reach by the end of the year. The politically popular legislation gives billions in aid to farmers and pays for the nation's nutrition programs, but it expires at the end of this month.
White House spokesman Alex Conant said Wednesday that President Bush would support Johanns no matter what he decides.
"Secretary Johanns is an outstanding secretary of agriculture, and the president will support whatever decision he makes," Conant said.
A run by Johanns would make him the fourth declared Republican candidate for the Senate seat. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, businessman Pat Flynn and former U.S. Rep. and Omaha Mayor Hal Daub are also in the race.
Democrats are hoping that Bob Kerrey, also a former Nebraska governor and former U.S. senator, will return to Nebraska politics and run for Senate. Kerrey, currently president of New School University in New York, has said he would consider it but did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Republicans have said that if Kerrey were to enter the race, his connections and popularity would make him tough to beat.
Johanns, 57, was mayor of Lincoln from 1991 to 1998, when he was elected governor. He won re-election to a second term in 2002. He was named secretary of agriculture in 2005. He has so far refused to say publicly whether he is interested in Hagel's seat, but he has said he and his family will end up back in Nebraska when his Cabinet job is finished.
"Our home is Nebraska. We'll be back," Johanns said Saturday at a state GOP gathering in Lincoln.
Hagel said at the same gathering that Johanns has what a candidate needs: "Mike has been privileged ... to be able to have the trust of the people, and that's what elections are about."
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