Former Governor Mike Rounds announced Thursday he is running for the U-S Senate. A few months ago, Rounds developed a committee to explore a possible Senate run. USD political science professor Mike Card says the former governor has had plenty of time to map out his future since returning to his insurance and real estate business in Pierre.
“But I think right now Governor Rounds is poised—I think he’s found the excitement. And the private sector is often not nearly as exciting as being able to make change in things that affect all of us. And certainly, you have the chance to do that in Washington, D.C. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s running," Card says. "He left office with a 70 percent approval rating. I looked a couple months ago; he’s got a quarter-million dollars in his campaign fund. He’s starting early so he’ll be able to get endorsements early; and this’ll effectively close out others who might be running against him.”
Card says he was surprised Rounds did not try to run against Johnson in 2008, even though it would have been in the middle of his final term as governor.