May not change hands – we’ll see what happens with Senator Johnson. I hope that he’s OK for humanitarian reasons, but if he is incapacitated it could be that control won’t switch – expect litigation around the whole issue of “incapacitated”
No link.
[i] Johnson?s Health Raises Questions About Senate Control
News that 59-year-old Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota suffered a possible stroke Wednesday afternoon and has been admitted to a Washington, D.C., hospital immediately raised speculation about what would become of the Democratic takeover of the Senate.
If Sen. Johnson were unable to finish the last two years of his second term, South Dakota?s Republican governor, Mike Rounds, would be able to name a successor ? and put the Senate in a 50-50 tie, shifting control back to Republicans. Under South Dakota law, the governor would ?fill by temporary appointment? a ?vacancy? in the U.S. Senate until a special election could be held. However, the law also says that that special election would be held ?at the same time as the next general election? ? which is in 2008, when Johnson?s term is up anyway.
According to a report in the Argus Leader, South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson said that ?state law is silent on the issue of whether an office holder is incapacitated. The law only has a stipulation for a ?vacancy.?? ?Amy Schatz[/i]
"There is little precedent for forcing a living senator to stand down against his will.
A predecessor of Mr Johnson, Karl Mundt, continued to hold his Senate seat for three years after a stroke that incapacitated him in 1969, although he was unable to attend Senate sessions."
As long as he isn’t actually replaced, then the Democrats maintain control. My question is whether the distribution of committee chairmanships can- or would- be revisited mid term if he were replaced, say, six months down the line.
Tests ruled out a stroke or heart attack, hope he was just coming down with a bug or something.
But, with what’s at stake, they should probably check him for polonium-210. Just in case Cheney is really, really desperate to avoid a subpoena.
[quote]WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, was hospitalized Wednesday after he suffered stroke-like symptoms in his Washington office, his staff said.
Johnson, who turns 60 on December 28, was taken to George Washington University Hospital by ambulance about 11:30 a.m., sources in his office said.
A statement issued by Johnson’s office said he was suffering from a “possible stroke.” But a spokeswoman later said that tests showed Johnson had suffered neither a stroke nor a heart attack, although it was not clear what had happened.
Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for Johnson, told CNN he was still undergoing tests and will stay hospitalized overnight, but she would not characterize his condition.
“We’re taking one day at a time,” Fisher said, “saying a lot of prayers and waiting until morning.”
Staff members said that Johnson was conscious when he was taken to the hospital.
Fisher said Johnson was in the Capitol Wednesday morning conducting a conference call with South Dakota reporters when “his speech pattern slipped off.”
She said the senator was able to walk back to his office in the Hart Senate Office Building, then began having problems with his right arm. He thought he was all right, she said, and went to his desk, but came out a few minutes later and “it was apparent he needed help.”
Staffers put him on a couch in the office and called the Capitol doctor, she said. He was taken to the hospital shortly afterward. His wife, in the office to have lunch with him, rode with him, Fisher said.
A lawyer and longtime state lawmaker, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986. He served five terms before he was elected to the Senate in 1996.
He is the senior senator from South Dakota and serves on numerous committees, including appropriations, budget, banking, energy and natural resources, and Indian affairs.
Should Johnson not be able to complete his term, which ends in 2008, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, could appoint his replacement, which could shift the balance of power in the Senate.
South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson said the appointment would fill the vacancy until a general election could be held in November 2008. There are no restrictions on who the governor can appoint, beyond meeting the legal requirements for Senate membership, he said.
Johnson battled prostate cancer in 2004, and after surgery, tests showed he no longer had the disease, according to his Web site.[/quote]
[quote]tme wrote:
But, with what’s at stake, they should probably check him for polonium-210. Just in case Cheney is really, really desperate to avoid a subpoena.[/quote]
Does anyone know of any precedent where a governor, regardless of his/her own party affiliation, has appointed someone from the same party as the man/woman being replaced? It seems like the right thing to do…
If Sen. Craig Thomas, R-WY, is unable to serve due to his recently diagnosed leukemia, I would not be at all surprised if our Gov, Dave Freudenthal, appointed another Republican to serve out his term. It would seem like the right thing to do, and seeking political advantage in this type of situation just leaves a bad taste. That’s the way Dave is, and it’s what most of the people of Wyoming would expect of him.
I don’t know anything about Mike Rounds of S.D. though, or the political situation there. If the state legislature is Democrat controlled and he appoints a Republican then I would think that getting stuff done would be pretty tough for the next two years. Same thing if the state house is Republican and he appointed a Dem because “it’s the right thing to do”, he’d be pissing people off.
Sounds like Johnson is going to recover and hopefully serve out his term, so all this is just idle speculation.