FARGO -- North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven will announce his intentions regarding the U.S. Senate race tonight, the North Dakota Republican Party announced Sunday.
Hoeven's announcement will be made prior to the Bismarck Area Republican District Conventions, according to a written statement released by the party.
The Bismarck Area Republican District Conventions, which are being held at the Doublewood Inn in Bismarck, will be the first in a series of gatherings across North Dakota that will lead to the state convention in Grand Forks in March.
The party statement released Sunday said "the Hoeven event" will start at 5:30 p.m., with the governor speaking about 6 p.m.
Speculation has been rampant about whether Hoeven will make a bid for the Senate after longtime Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan announced last week that he will retire this year.
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Hoeven has served as North Dakota's governor since 2000, when he defeated Democrat Heidi Heitkamp.
He was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2008, making him the first governor in the state's history to be elected to a third four-year term.
He is also the longest-serving seated governor in the country.
Born in Bismarck, Hoeven graduated with honors from Dartmouth College in 1979, later earning an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
From 1986 to 1993, Hoeven was executive vice president of First Western Bank in Minot.
From 1993 until he became governor in 2000, he was president and CEO of the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.
During his tenure at the Bank of North Dakota, the bank saw its assets grow from $900 million to $1.6 billion, according to a biography of Hoeven on the North Dakota state government Web site.
