A top state Republican official says North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (HOH'-ven) has decided to run for the U.S. Senate.
The official confirmed to The Associated Press that the governor will enter the race to succeed incumbent Sen. Democrat Byron Dorgan, who announced he will not seek re-election this year.
The Republican official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the governor's plans. Hoeven is scheduled to speak to a meeting of Bismarck Republicans on Monday night.
The 52-year-old Hoeven is in the middle of his third term, which he won in 2008 with more than 70 percent of the vote. Republicans had been pushing the three-term incumbent governor to challenge Dorgan.
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