by John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer
For the third time in less than a year, the sudden departure from office of a U.S. senator — or the threat of a departure — has thrust a governor into the national spotlight, calling attention to the sometimes murky and often politicized process of how states choose congressional replacements.
The recent vacancies — or near-vacancies — have highlighted differences in state procedures for filling positions in Congress and the varied roles of governors in naming successors, especially in the exclusive, 100-member Senate, where openings are relatively rare.
In Idaho, the governor figures prominently in the process. If embattled Sen. Larry Craig (R) decides to resign from office, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) will have full authority to appoint a replacement for the senior senator, who was arrested in a sex sting operation inside a men’s restroom at an airport in Minnesota in June. Otter can choose anyone he wants, and rumors are swirling over who the appointee might be, even as Craig fights an uphill battle to keep his job after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.
The death of Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas (R) in June put Gov. Dave Freudenthal in a similar position, but with one major difference — Freudenthal is a Democrat. Uncommon among states, however, Wyoming law required Freudenthal to choose from three candidates nominated by the state Republican Party; he chose John Barrasso, a conservative former state senator. A special election next year will determine a permanent replacement for Thomas, whose term was set to expire in 2013.
Perhaps the most closely watched recent Senate departure was that of South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D). His seat at the time represented the single-vote majority won by Democrats in the upper chamber during last year’s midterm elections, when voters ousted the GOP from the majority in both houses for the first time since 1994.
Johnson fell critically ill and underwent emergency brain surgery in December, feeding widespread speculation about whether he would be forced to relinquish his seat — and whether Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, would use the rarest of opportunities to alter the balance of power in the U.S. Senate by appointing a replacement from his own party, as South Dakota law allows him to do. History contributed to the rumors: In 2002, Rounds filled a Democratic state Senate seat with a Republican.
But the issue became moot when Johnson recovered, returning to the Senate last Wednesday (Sept. 5) for the first time since his illness.
Sudden vacancies in Congress — and especially in the Senate — always touch off political jockeying among potential replacements and their supporters and place governors under a microscope, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. Because of that attention, governors are reluctant to make controversial appointments, he said.
