Although former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds got a major pass in the Republican U.S. Senate primary when Rep. Kristi Noem decided not to run in 2014, he is still not assured of nomination without opposition.
Dr. Annette Bosworth last week told the Argus Leader she had met with supporters in Washington, D.C., and would talk more with South Dakotans before deciding whether to run.
The Sioux Falls physician is a term-limits advocate -- who vows to limit her own tenure if elected -- a strong Christian, and a vociferous opponent of Obamacare.
The 41-year-old Bosworth is best known to voters for a long-running battle with the South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners, which threatened to revoke her license for allegedly employing an unlicensed medical assistant. The dispute ended with an undisclosed settlement.
Should she be elected, Bosworth would be the first U.S. senator from South Dakota without elective experience since Republican oil and gas man Chan Gurney was elected to the Senate in 1938.
With Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson retiring after 18 years, the likely Democratic nominee is former congressional staffer Rick Weiland.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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