Mike Rounds: D.C. Does Not Work

Former South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds threw his hat into the United States Senate Race on Thursday. Rounds announced he would run for democrat Tim Johnson’s seat in the 2014 midterm election.

Rounds was governor from 2003 to 2011. He also served as a state senator for ten years.

“What they're doing today in D.C. does not work. They have to find ways to cooperate. The cooperation has got to cross party lines,” Rounds said following his announcement.

The Pierre Republican said he would be willing to make concessions if elected to the Senate in 2014. Rounds said little about his would-be opponent, Johnson, who's a five-term United States Congressman elected to the Senate in 1996.

“We really are friends. We've worked on things together,” Rounds said. “We have a different philosophy in some areas, but for the people of South Dakota we can have healthy discussions. I think that’s what we'll want.”

Rounds said he would not support policies Johnson has voted for in the past; pointing toward stricter EPA standards, financial reform like the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and Obamacare.

“I don't think we know how we're going to pay for that yet. The Dodd-Frank bill which was the reform of the banking industry may have been needed for Wall Street giants, but it also impacts local bankers in South Dakota where our people go for personal loans, car loans and house loans,” Rounds said.

For now, Rounds may be at a disadvantage where campaign finances are concerned, especially if Johnson seeks re-election. But Rounds believes the money will come.

Rounds said he will crisscross the state in the coming months to talk with South Dakotans about his Senate Bid. He'll also be looking for money from sources outside of the state.

In a statement released Thursday, Senator Johnson said:

I feel great, still have work to do, and I fully intend to put together a winning campaign in the weeks and months ahead.  In the meantime, I intend to continue to focus on my important work representing South Dakota.