NYT: Johnson "should be back at work before long"

The New York Times:

Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota is preparing for a return to the Senate after a brain hemorrhage in December, and fellow Democrats say they fully expect Mr. Johnson to be a candidate for a third term next year.

Colleagues said that Mr. Johnson, who left a rehabilitation facility late last month and is now at home, should be back at work before long. Making sure his campaign did not fall behind financially while he was recovering, dozens of Senate Democrats have held fundraising events on his behalf and tapped their own supporters. His campaign reported raising $633,000 the first three months of the year, leaving him $1.2 million in the bank as of March 31.

The political delicacy of Mr. Johnson’s condition has also chilled potential Republican opposition in the state that turned the Democratic leader Tom Daschle out of the Senate in 2004. Gov. Mike Rounds, considered the most formidable Republican challenger, has shown little interest to date and other potential Republican candidates have had to tread lightly as well.