Public Visit by South Dakota Sen. Johnson Could Play Into ’08 Plans

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Public Visit by South Dakota Sen. Johnson Could Play Into ’08 Plans
By Marie Horrigan | 1:30 PM; Aug. 17, 2007 |


Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson’s public visit in Sioux Falls, S.D., later this month will be the first chance for South Dakota voters and potential candidates to evaluate whether Johnson appears fit for a re-election campaign after his brain hemorrhage last December, or whether both parties need to gear up for an open-seat race.

It will be a significant homecoming for Johnson, who has spent the last eight months in intensive physical therapy in the Washington area since his brain started bleeding on Dec. 13. He underwent surgery the next day to repair the damage caused by his condition, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), and has been recuperating ever since.

Johnson’s Senate office has released statements from the senator and pictures of him in his recovery, but the Aug. 28 Sioux Falls event will be the first chance for voters to evaluate Johnson’s recovery. Although his condition has improved, Johnson has been conducting Senate business from his home in the Washington, D.C., area as he undergoes hours of speech, physical and occupational therapy every day, said spokeswoman Julianne Fisher. He has not yet announced his candidacy for re-election.

“His speech is definitely slower than it was prior to the incident, but the thoughts are clear, his mind is sharp, he’s doing work from home and we’re hearing from him every day,” Fisher said. During his recuperation Johnson has been reading memos, talking with his staff and colleagues and voting by proxy on some amendments in legislation pending in the Appropriations Committee.

“Nobody is really certain the extent of his condition that might impact his ability to campaign or be seen as effectively representing his constituency,” said William D. Richardson, chair of the department of political science at the University of South Dakota.

Democrats and Republicans alike have been circumspect about discussing the race given Johnson’s grave health concerns. Democrats do not want to give the appearance they are abandoning Johnson, while Republicans are fighting the appearance of trying to profit from his tragedy. But with contests for 34 Senate seats in 2008 and the Democrats’ slim one-seat majority in the Senate, both sides have heavy stakes in the race.

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