Democrat Earl Pomeroy Won’t Run For North Dakota Senate Seat

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND).
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) will not run for the open Senate seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan, RealClearPolitics reports — a serious blow to Dems in their efforts to keep this seat.

A Democratic source has also confirmed the news to TPMDC.

Third-term Republican Gov. John Hoeven is set to run for the seat, and starts out the race as a heavy favorite. In addition to Pomeroy, who would have been the strongest possible Democratic candidate, the party has also been courting liberal talk show host Ed Schultz, who launched his broadcasting career in North Dakota.

It’s been an interesting last 24 hours for Senate Democrats. Yesterday, they were more likely than not to re-elect Byron Dorgan in North Dakota (Hoeven was not in the race, and there was no top-tier opponent) and lose Chris Dodd in Connecticut. Now both seats are open, and as it currently stands they are likely to lose in North Dakota and keep Connecticut.

Late Update: DSCC Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) confirmed the news about Pomeroy to Greg Sargent.

Latest DC
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: