Democrat Byron L. Dorgan has been very popular over his three terms representing North Dakota in the Senate. Thus, the widely held conclusion that the only Republican who could seriously challenge him in his 2010 re-election bid is John Hoeven, the state's popular three-term governor.

Hoeven, though, has been reticent about the possibility of a Senate bid, so even a hint that he is thinking about opposing Dorgan is bound to get attention. That happened Monday, when, according to the Associated Press, Hoeven said he might make a decision by Labor Day about whether to run for the Senate.

"I don't have any specific timeline, but that's probably a reasonable range," Hoeven told the AP while discussing the state Republican Party's efforts to recruit a challenger to Dorgan.

But when CQ Politics inquired about the remark later in the day, Hoeven's office suggested we don't read too much into it.