About 308 days ago Steve Daines was sworn in as Montana’s at-large U.S. House member. It is his first term, and he probably hasn’t found all the restrooms and places to hide from his staff in the U.S. Capitol – let alone build up any seniority to help his state.

According to several reports linked to GOP officials, Daines will announce he is running for Montana’s open U.S. Senate seat today in Bozeman. It’s been one of the worst-kept secrets in the history of Montana politics. Reporters can have their story written and fill in a few blanks – and then take the rest of the day enjoying the sights and sounds of beautiful Bozeman.

A poll conducted here at The Western Word asked “Will Republican U.S. Representative Steve Daines run for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, retire from politics, or run for some other office in 2014?”

71% of those participating said he would run for U.S. Senate and 29% said he would run for re-election in the U.S. House.

Although the Democrats’ top dog, Brian Schweitzer, decided against running (which if he had, it might have kept Daines out), Daines has several problems to overcome before moving on up to the senate. 

First, the federal government shutdown hurt him. He managed to anger the far righties and the left in just a few weeks. An October 26 Great Falls Tribune poll asked, “Has your opinion of Rep. Steve Daines changed since the shutdown” Of the 309 votes, 44% said they like him less.

Daines voted against the Tea Party “to reopen government and fund Obamacare” which angered his base of support, which caused them to ask, “Who will run against Steve Daines for US Senate so we can elect a Senator who will not cave in to the Democrats?” Ouch!

Many Republicans have patiently waited for Daines to make a decision, but after Daines’ vote to reopen the government and fund Obamacare, GOP U.S. Senate candidate state Representative Champ Edmunds said that “Montanans deserve a conservative candidate.”

While Daines would probably beat Edmunds soundly in a primary, Daines biggest worry should be a third-party candidate, like a Libertarian, who would take away valuable votes from him like they did in 2012 (Denny Rehberg v. Jon Tester) and 2006 (Tester v. Conrad Burns).

Secondly, Daines’ job performance is lacking. He’s done nothing significant except shut down the government. Recently, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle asked readers, “Rep. Steve Daines has been on the job for nearly a year. What do you think of his performance so far?”

Early this morning, over 1000 people had voted and 67% said they disapprove of Daines’ job performance. Daines resides in Bozeman.

Nonetheless, Steve Daines is the great hope for Montana Republicans – just like Denny Rehberg was…

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