Today it emerged that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns will be stepping down from his post in order to run for the Senate in Nebraska, where he formerly served as Governor. With the prospect of another former Governor, Democrat Bob Kerrey (who also previously represented the state in the Senate), getting in the race, this campaign is shaping up to be one of the most competitive and most watched in the country this cycle (though Bob Novak writes today, "Kerrey vs. Johanns would lean slightly Democratic"). One thing that might not put Johanns over the top is the fact that he has forsaken his primary responsibility in the cabinet -- getting the Farm Bill passed. Luckily that legislation isn't important to Nebraskans. Oh, wait...

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns's expected decision to run for a Nebraska Senate seat provides a boost for Republicans, but drew quick criticism from some Democrats who say the secretary should finish what he started on the 2007 farm bill.

"Just to take a walk in the middle of a farm bill that only happens once every five years, it borders on irresponsible," Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) told reporters Wednesday. He said Johanns should stay at his post until work concludes on a 2007 farm bill that was approved in the House but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

"I do think that as the head of the Department of Agriculture, the most responsible thing for him would be to stay with it until we've got it across the finish line," said Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), who like Conrad is a member of the Agriculture Committee. The current farm bill expires at the end of this month.

The criticism likely foreshadows a Democratic line against Johanns if he becomes the GOP nominee to succeed retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). Former Democratic Congressman Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas) warned that Johanns could be imposing a self-inflicted blow to his political future in Nebraska, where the farm bill is a huge policy issue.

"It's always helpful that if you sign on for a job, that you complete the job," said Stenholm, who is now a lobbyist on agriculture issues. "If you punt in the third quarter, that can hurt you."

While Johanns is no doubt a strong recruit for the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- their highest profile recruitment thus far, but not necessarily their number one preferred candidate for the race (the incumbent, Chuck Hagel, who would have been a prohibitive favorite) -- he's far from the only candidate in the race. In fact, Johanns is going to have to get out of a bitter and divisive primary against state Attorney General Jon Bruning and former Congressman Hal Daub. And remember, it's only been about a year since Nebraska's Republicans voted down the establishment pick for a statewide office (then-Rep. and former Nebraska Cornhusker coach Tom Osborne in the 2006 gubernatorial primary). So the fact that Johanns is giving up on his number one responsibility, one that is extremely important to Nebraskans, isn't likely to help him much in either a primary or a general election. While this race certainly won't be a gimme for the Democrats with should Kerrey in fact get in the race, there's a real possibility that Nebraska is going to have two Democratic Senators for the first time in more than a decade.