Clearing up any lingering questions that his near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2006 might deter him from seeking re-election in 2008, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) released a statement Friday assuring Coyote State voters that he intends to be on the ballot next year.

Johnson decided to make a formal announcement Friday, more than 10 months after he was struck down by the aneurysm, because he “needed time to recover and regain my health in order to determine whether I could do the job and best serve our state,” his statement said.

“After months of rehabilitation and recovery, more than a month on the job in Washington and after my recent trips back to South Dakota it is clear, to my family, my doctors, and me that I am able to do the hard work required of a United States Senator,” Johnson said in his statement. “I have said before that I wanted to take this second chance at life and focus even harder on being the best advocate I can for the people of South Dakota. Today I am asking South Dakotans to give me the chance to give back to them by announcing that I will run for re-election in 2008.”

Johnson reported raising more than $450,000 for the third quarter in his latest Federal Election Commission filing and has about $2 million in the bank.

— John McArdle