(Continued from page 18)

tions for my family and the high reward and satisfaction I'm experiencing at Raven Industries," Herseth Sandlin said later from Minneapolis, where she was between flights.
• Herseth Sandlin also said she saw a television interview early Monday in which former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine expressed dissatisfaction with the gridlock in Washington.
• "I agree with her concern that the tenor of today's politics is inhibiting elected leaders in Washington from focusing on what matters most and finding common ground to move the country forward," Herseth Sandlin said.
• Herseth Sandlin lost her first run for Congress in 2002 but won a special election in June 2004. She was later re-elected to three full terms in the U.S. House before losing a re-election bid in 2010 to Republican Kristi Noem.
• The only announced candidates for Johnson's seat are former Republican Gov. Mike Rounds and Democrat Rick Weiland, an ex-staffer for former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
• Speculation among Democrats in recent months has centered on whether Herseth Sandlin or Johnson's son, Brendan Johnson, would run for the seat. Brendan Johnson has also been encouraged to run for the Senate seat, but he has refused to comment on any political plans, saying he remains focused on his job as U.S. attorney for South Dakota.
• Johnson repeated Monday he doesn't believe it's appropriate for a U.S. attorney to make any kind of political statement.
• "My only focus is on being U.S. attorney. That's where my attention is, on the job at hand," Johnson said.
• Asked if he might leave the U.S. attorney's job and make an announcement later, Johnson said: "I'm not going to go there either."
• When Weiland announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination last week, he said he decided to run because he's convinced that Brendan Johnson will not enter the race. Weiland ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1996.
• South Dakota Democratic Party Chairman Ben Nesselhuf said Weiland would make a great nominee but that other Democrats might emerge to join Weiland in a primary because Rounds could be vulnerable in the general election.
• "I think we're going to hold the seat. I'm still feeling pretty bullish on that," Nesselhuf said.
• Rounds said he's prepared to take on any candidates who enter the race and his campaign will emphasize his record during his eight years as governor.
• "I think most South Dakotans believe in results, and that's the focus we'll have," Rounds said.
• Weiland issued a statement saying he respects Herseth Sandlin's decision to

(Continued on page 20)