Argus Leader - Dykstra Goes Distance for Seat

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Argus Leader - Dykstra Goes Distance for Seat

Joel Dykstra knows all about high gas prices. Since announcing his run for the U.S. Senate last summer, Dykstra has been on a bid to get his name out to Republicans.

He figures he's put 70,000 miles on his vehicle, which translates to oil changes every three weeks.

"It would have been a lot cheaper to run for office in the days of $1.50-a-gallon gas," he said.

Dykstra hopes to win the GOP nomination June 3. If successful, he'll face Sen. Tim Johnson in November.

Early in the campaign, Dykstra said he heard from a lot of people concerned about the Iraq War. Now, the big issues are gas prices, the rising cost of food and health care.

Dykstra says the U.S. must increase domestic oil production, and he supports opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore areas to drilling.

He faults U.S. policy makers over the past several decades for hobbling the domestic refining and production industries.

"What this really boils down to is 30 years of inaction - 30 years of cheap oil and not providing for this day," he said.

Dykstra wants energy independence through ethanol, clean coal, wind power and nuclear energy, and he supports government monetary rewards to private companies that advance renewable technology.

Dykstra, who lived in Europe for almost 10 years under government health programs, opposes nationalizing health care. He says the system can be fixed by increasing transparency about the costs and quality of care. He thinks states should have greater flexibility to deal with health care in much the way they did with welfare reform.

Dykstra has an advantage over his Republican competitors: He's already been elected to public office. He's on his third term in the state House.

State Rep. Tim Rave, R-Baltic, entered the House with Dykstra in the same term. Rave said Dykstra immerses himself in complicated issues such as health care.

"Joel is just solid," Rave said. "I've not met somebody as well-traveled and who understands the issues as well as he does."

Dykstra is a Canton native who spent his early career in the oil and gas industry.

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