SD Representatives Noted

Reid Wilson writes of Sen. Johnson and the rest of our congressional delegation today:

Also today, continuing the bipartisan cooperation around Senator Tim Johnson's (D-SD) return from a congenital arteriovenous malformation, Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) each held open the doors of Johnson's office as the South Dakota's senior Senator returns to work today for the first time.

Republicans have had trouble starting a race against Thune [sic] because of his illness. In any other year, and with a strong opponent like Gov. Mike Rounds, Johnson would face a difficult, possibly uphill race. Johnson beat Thune by just over 500 votes in 2002, and beat Sen. Larry Pressler by 2% in 1996. Thune, of course, came back to beat Sen. Tom Daschle two years later.

Chris Cillizza also writes about Johnson's return to work, and the political implications of his return for any Republicans that stand up to challenge Johnson for his seat.