Johanns Will Enter Senate Race By Don Walton Lincoln Journal Star September 19 , 2007 Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has decided to resign from President Bush’s cabinet to return to Nebraska and enter the 2008 Senate race. Johanns, the former two-term Republican governor, began placing phone calls to a number of friends and supporters in the state Tuesday night to inform them of his decision. A formal announcement is expected in Nebraska next week after Johanns has submitted his resignation to the White House, according to a source close to Johanns. Johanns and his wife, Stephanie, went house-hunting over the weekend when he was in Lincoln to attend a Saturday event at which he was honored by the Nebraska Republican Party. The final decision to seek the GOP nomination for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel was nailed down during the last 24 hours. Johanns is “very excited, very pumped up,” according to the source. The decision will be enthusiastically welcomed by a number of leading Republicans who urged Johanns to enter the race.