Former Lt. Gov. Steve Kirby (R) said Wednesday that he remains undecided as to whether he’ll run for Senate this year against Sen. Tim Johnson (D), although he expects to make up his mind by Monday.

“I’m probably in the last week of the decision-making process,” Kirby said in a brief telephone interview. “I’m very undecided right now. There are factors pulling me both ways.”

Kirby’s entrance into the race could turn it from a virtual lock for Johnson into a highly competitive contest. State Rep. Joel Dykstra and businessman Sam Kephart are running for the Republican nomination, but neither is expected to cause the popular Johnson too many problems in the general election.

In addition to having served in statewide office previously, Kirby founded the venture capital firm Bluestem and is capable of spending a considerable amount of his personal fortune on a Senate race should he choose to do so.

Perhaps anticipating the threat Kirby might pose, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Wednesday circulated an article written by DailyKos.com founder and publisher Markos Moulitsas that accuses Bluestem of investing in companies that engaged in supposedly ethically questionable practices.
— David M. Drucker