SD Senator's Re-Election Bid in Good Health

Despite efforts by his Republican challenger to raise the issue of his health, Sen. Tim Johnson looks to be comfortably ahead in his South Dakota re-election bid despite effects of a 2006 brain hemorrhage that often confine him to a wheelchair, the New York Times reports. “We’re a loyal state,” one resident said, despite his own concerns, “so people will back Johnson.”

Johnson’s opponent, a conservative state representative, says voters “want some evidence as to whether he can hold his own” since the hemorrhage. But South Dakotans seem understanding of the senator’s condition, and ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. “I don’t care what Johnson’s voice sounds like,” says one voter. “His record speaks for itself.” (More Tim Johnson stories.)