Daily Republic - Dykstra Compares His Race to Johnson vs. Pressler Race

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Daily Republic - Dykstra Compares His Race to Johnson vs. Pressler Race

To state Rep. Joel Dykstra, there's an ironic connection between his campaign for a seat in the United States Senate and the reasoning for then-U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson's decision to challenge then-Sen. Larry Pressler.

Dykstra said Johnson's reasoning for challenging Pressler for what became his current seat was that he was a member of the minority party and would work better with South Dakota's other Democratic senator, Tom Daschle.

Now, Dykstra said, Johnson's tune sounds eerily similar to that of Pressler's in 1996.

"Here we are 12 years later and Sen. Johnson is saying, ‘Look, you've got to re-elect me because I've got all this seniority, I'm a member of these key committees and I'm a member of the majority party,' " Dykstra said. "I'm saying, ‘Hey, you know, I think I can work better with South Dakota's other senator."

After winning the Republican primary on June 3, Dykstra, of Canton, became the challenger for Johnson's seat in the Senate in a contest that will be decided in November.

Thursday, Dykstra spoke to the Mitchell Rotary Club, where he discussed his ideas on solving energy problems in the United States.

Dykstra touted his almost-20 years of experience in the petroleum industry, working in England and Italy before returning home to live in South Dakota.

High fuel prices are the main issue on everyone's minds, Dykstra said, and he believes it's time to consider a number of alternative energy sources, no matter what party affiliation a person may have.

Dykstra said Democrats have argued for conservation, renewable fuels and new technology while Republicans have lobbied for drilling for more oil in the United States.

"There are … two pieces of competing proposals," Dykstra said. "We need to do everything. We seem to have reduced this drilling issue into a drill-everywhere-or-drill-nowhere choice. We can do all that stuff safely and environmentally."

For many voters, the main question surrounding this campaign is if and how Johnson, whose speech has been affected since a December 2006 brain injury, will participate in debates with Dykstra at forums like the upcoming Dakotafest farm show.

While Dykstra has already agreed to appear at the show, he used the debate question to make light of his financial situation, which shows him trailing Johnson by approximately $2 million.

"Everybody's thinking this, so I'll just say the first question I get from everybody I talk to is ‘What are you going to do about the sympathy factor?' " Dykstra said. "Frankly, if people want to feel sorry for me because I'm 2 million dollars behind in the fundraising … I'll let that one go."

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