PR: Does the campaign have any internal polling you can share?

JB: We polled it at the end of April, so it's probably six weeks old now, give or take, and I led Hagel by 9 points. In a Republican primary sample, I led him by 47 to 38 percent. If you push it just a little bit, when you say that Hagel had discussed the impeachment of the President as an option, and if you knew Senator Hagel had voted with the Democrats on matters regarding Iraq, including a strict timeline for troop withdrawal, then for whom would you vote, it goes to a 24 point lead – 55-31 percent.

PR: How do you feel about your chances in a highly contested statewide race? Lots of times people will throw out the argument, "Well, he's challenging an incumbent who can win. Why rock the boat?" How are you different?

JB: I've been elected statewide twice, which is the exact number of times Chuck Hagel has been elected. Nebraskans know me. I'm a known quantity. The statewide name ID figures for Hagel and I were virtually identical, except my favorables were higher and unfavorables were lower. We were both at 90-something name ID. My favorables in the 60s, his were barely over 50%. His unfavorables were 40% and mine were 6%.

I'm a known quantity in Nebraska. My family is five generations of farmers. I married a farm girl. Nebraskans know that at the end of all this for me, that I'm going to live here. There's just no doubt in my mind where I'm going to be when I'm 65 or 70 or whatever it is when I hang it up.

I think people ought to ask Senator Hagel the same question because he's lived in Virginia since 1971. He moved back to Nebraska in '94 to run for the Senate seat after having considered whether or not to run for governor of Virginia. He decided that a Senate seat here in '96 would be a better play. He won the Senate seat and promptly moved back to Virginia. I'd be interested in the largest number of days he spent in a row in this state since he won the Senate election. He probably never sold his Virginia house.

How do I feel about the opportunity to win a general election? I feel fine about it. I know Nebraskans, whether you're in a small town or from Omaha and Lincoln. I'm right in the middle of that. I'm not someone who needs to work hard to figure out to fit in with Nebraskans. I am one.

PR: I'm guessing conservatives will be very happy to know you're not Chuck Hagel. If I'm an activist in Pennsylvania or Iowa who's thinking about supporting you, what should I know about Jon Bruning?

JB: They should know that I'm going to be steady to the point of boring them. They're not going to have to guess where I'm going to be. I've got a ten year history in politics that is straight as the Nebraska interstate. I'm going to be in favor of the Second Amendment, every time. I'm going to be pro-life, every time. I'm going to be in favor of more efficient smaller government and lower taxes every time. If they would look at my legislative record and couple it with my record as Attorney General, they are going to find zero maverick moments. I know what I believe. I'm comfortable with what I believe, and that's what Nebraskans are going to get when I'm in the Senate. That's what Americans are going to get when I'm in the Senate. I'm not saying I don't think about the issues. I think about them very deeply, but I know what I believe. And I'm not going to blow with the political winds based on my own ambition or the moment in history.