November 12, 2008 - 2:59 pm — Safe Democratic — #22
Johnson never allowed for a campaign to take place and as a sympathetic figure he was hard to attack. He won 62 percent to 38 percent.

October 29, 2008 - 12:35 pm — Safe Democratic — #23
In another race of a Republican endorsing a Democrat, former South Dakota Sen. Larry Pressler is endorsing Johnson -- the Democrat who defeated him in 1996 -- in his bid against Dykstra, according to the Rapid City Journal.

October 24, 2008 - 11:55 am — Safe Democratic — #23
Johnson was on the receiving end of a nasty attack from Dykstra after skipping out on a television chat where he would've fielded questions on KELO, according to the Rapid City Journal.

"They obviously don't think that his re-election would survive any
kind of proximity, comparison or joint appearance with me," Dykstra said.

August 8, 2008 - 2:06 pm — Safe Democratic — #32

Johnson's campaign announced today that he would not be participating in any debates this fall.

“I have been open and honest about my recovery.  While my speech continues to improve it is not yet 100 percent and I have not yet reached a point in my rehab where my participation in a debate would accurately reflect my capabilities,” Johnson said in a statement. “Therefore I will not participate in traditional political debates during this campaign."

July 21, 2008 - 7:29 pm

The Associated Press reports that Sen. Tim Johnson hasn't missed a single vote since returning to work in September 2007 after brain surgery. 

And while challenger Joel Dykstra has accepted every debate invitation, Johnson's campaign manager Steve Jarding said, "we are going to look at the schedule. We know there are a lot of ways you can debate the issues and we'll start with that...Tim has said he would like to but nothing's set in stone."