It's a combination of targeting higher paying jobs in these growth areas and fostering closer cooperation with higher education; a rising tide that lifts all boats.

In 2004 John Hoeven served as a Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. Another Hoeven staff member Don Canton said this was not a formal re-election announcement but one would be coming later in the fall. North Dakota has gained nearly 40000 new jobs since he took office.

He replaced junior Senator Byron L. Prior to his election to the Governor's office Hoeven served as the president of the nation's only state-owned bank the Bank of North Dakota from 1993 to 2000. A member of the North Dakota Republican Party he previously served as the 31st Governor of North Dakota from December 2000 to December 2010.