A few days ago I wrote about Steve Kirby, the Republican Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, who’s being recruited by the NRSC to run against Tim Johnson this November.

Turns out that Kirby has some disturbing skeletons in his closet:

Following information on the Web site of Kirby’s Bluestem Venture Capital, [oppo researchers] began investigating Collagenesis, a Massachussetts-based company backed by Bluestem to the tune of a million dollars.

Two years before, Collagenesis had been the subject of an investigative series by the Orange County (California) Register that discovered the company had obtained donated cadaver skin and processed it into a very expensive product called Dermalogen, that was widely used in cosmetic surgery. The skin from one cadaver produced $36,000 worth of Dermalogen, which was used primarily to enlarge lips and smooth out wrinkles.

The Register expose thoroughly demonstrated that the cadavers were donated to tissue banks by family members who had no idea the remains of their loved ones were being used for profit in the cosmetic surgery industry. While it is against federal law to buy or sell tissue for a profit, the law allows for “reasonable fees” to cover processing costs, without defining what is reasonable. The loophole had resulted in large amounts of donated skin being used for cosmetic surgery while thousands of severe burn victims went without desperately needed grafts.

Well, the latest poll out of SD shows Johnson handily beating Kirby.  Badlands Blue has the scoop:

NEW POLL: JOHNSON LEADS KIRBY 70-19 IN SOUTH DAKOTAWith 72% Job Approval, Senator Positioned for Re-election

A new poll taken for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee shows that South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson holds a commanding 70-19 lead over potential Republican candidate Steve Kirby.  The poll also shows that 72 percent of South Dakotans approve of the job Johnson is doing, with only 15 percent disapproving.  South Dakota’s senior Senator is rated favorably by 79 percent of voters and unfavorably by only 12 percent.

Johnson is a great Senator and a legedary campaigner.  Even if Kirby jumps in the race, I don’t expect that he’ll  give Johnson much trouble at all.