MSNBC's Ed Schultz Asked to Run for Byron Dorgan's Senate Seat

January 6th, 2010 11:30 AM

MSNBC's Ed Schultz has been officially asked to run for the Senate seat North Dakota's Byron Dorgan (D) will be vacating at the end of this year.

Dorgan surprisingly announced at his website Tuesday that having served in Congress for 30 years, he would not be seeking re-election in November.

Speaking with MSNBC's Alex Witt Wednesday, Schultz divulged that he had been officially asked to run by North Dakota state's House Minority Leader Merle Boucher (D) (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t Story Balloon):

ALEX WITT, HOST: We're going back to Ed right now because you got a pretty important phone call, and what did they ask of you, the Democrat Party?

ED SCHULTZ: Well, last night when Sen. Dorgan was talking to me, he asked me how old I was. And I went, "Uh-oh!"

WITT: This is not for a birthday card.

SCHULTZ: Yeah, I did get a phone call this morning from Merle Boucher who is the House Democratic Leader and he asked me to consider to run for the United States Senate seat in the state of North Dakota. I asked him very point blank, "Is this an official ask?" He said, "Yes it is."

Honestly: who says there are liberals in the media?