BISMARCK, N.D. -- North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan stunned fellow Democrats when he decided not to seek re-election this fall and swung open a race that Republicans are convinced will help the GOP dent the Democrats' fragile majority in the Senate.

Dorgan's announcement Tuesday means Democrats will have to defend open Senate seats in at least four states in what could be a challenging election year. Anti-incumbent sentiment is brewing among voters, and the party in power typically gets blamed for the county's troubles.

North Dakota Republican Gov. John Hoeven - who has won his last two elections with more than 70 percent of the vote - appeared ready to jump into the 2010 race. The three-term governor had shrugged off questions about challenging Dorgan, but said Tuesday he was considering a run "very seriously."

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Dorgan, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992 after serving a dozen years in the House, said he reached the decision after discussing his future with his family over the holidays. Dorgan, 67, said he "began to wrestle with the question of whether making a commitment to serve in the Senate seven more years was the right thing to do."

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North Dakota Republicans were jubilant, saying they were confident Hoeven would run and could overcome any Democratic challenger in the fall.

"I believe this seals the deal," said Kevin Cramer, a Republican state public service commissioner who is considering running for the U.S. House.

Democrats hold an effective 60-40 majority in the Senate - enough to break Republican filibusters - if they and the chamber's two independents, who align themselves with Democrats, stick together.

North Dakota's three-person congressional delegation has been solidly Democratic since Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., defeated incumbent Republican Mark Andrews in 1986. Republicans have held the governorship since 1992 and controlled the state Legislature since 1995.

Dorgan had been preparing for his fourth Senate race for almost two years. He had hired a former aide in 2008 to lay the groundwork for a campaign and raised $3.9 million through last September - a princely sum in North Dakota politics.

Early polling showed Dorgan trailing Hoeven in a hypothetical contest, and Democrats expected a competitive race if the matchup materialized.

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