Game on.

Preparing for the possibility Sen. Chuck Hagel may not seek re-election, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning announced Thursday he’ll begin to organize and finance a 2008 Senate campaign.

Bruning said he’ll build a statewide grassroots organization and “raise as much money as I can” but be prepared to step aside if Hagel decides to bid for a third term.

“I will not run against him” in a Republican primary election, Bruning told a crowded news conference in the Capitol Rotunda.

“(Hagel has) worked hard to build the Nebraska Republican Party into the strong institution it is today and has earned the right to take whatever time he needs to determine his political future,” Bruning said.

However, if Hagel decides not to seek re-election, he said, “Republicans must have a candidate who’s ready to step up to the plate.”

Bruning’s bold decision to move ahead came a few days after Hagel called his own timeout by delaying a decision on his political future until later this year.

The attorney general’s announcement prompted former Rep. Hal Daub to quickly stake out his own Senate ground.

Daub, Nebraska’s Republican national committeeman and former Omaha mayor, issued a statement that he’s “strongly considering” a Senate bid if Hagel chooses a different course.

Although he intends to “remain patient and respectful,” Daub said, “the apparent eagerness of other Nebraskans to mount a campaign” prompts him to consider his own timing.

Hagel, who is mulling pursuit of the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, said Bruning phoned Wednesday to inform him of his plans.

“He made it very clear to me he would support me” in a bid for re-election, Hagel said during his weekly telephone news conference from Washington.

“He said (his action) was not in any way a threat or pushing me.”

In his prepared remarks, Bruning said: “I am simply testing the waters to determine whether Nebraskans are interested in my candidacy should Senator Hagel choose not to run.”

In responding to a question at the news conference, Bruning acknowledged he might have reservations about stepping aside at the last moment if Hagel waits until his filing deadline next Feb. 15.

One course available to Hagel is to pursue the GOP presidential nomination and still have the option of meeting the Senate filing deadline if he does not fare well in a front-loaded series of presidential caucuses and primaries that peak on Feb. 5.

Would Bruning still stay out if Hagel waited that long?

“I don’t know if I can answer that,” the attorney general said.  But, he said, he’s sure Hagel will make his decision about a Senate race well before that.

Hagel has placed no deadline on determining his political plans, but sometime after Labor Day appears to be a reasonable guess.

Bruning’s formation of an exploratory committee provides a mechanism for raising campaign funds for a Senate race.

Money previously raised for a future re-election campaign for attorney general could not be used in a federal race. But Senate funds could later be transferred into a state race.

“This Senate seat and this election are too important to leave to chance,” Bruning said.

“It takes time to travel to 93 counties and have conversations with people about what’s important. And it takes time to build the grassroots support needed to win.

“This is all about the ground game.”

Bruning said he has spoken recently with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, who resigned the governorship to serve in President Bush’s cabinet, to determine whether he has any interest in a Nebraska Senate race.

Citing federal restrictions on his political activity, Johanns “wouldn’t say anything,” the attorney general said.

Bruning said he twice has turned down Arizona Sen. John McCain’s request that he head McCain’s Republican presidential campaign in Nebraska.

“I’m a Hagel guy,” the attorney general said.

Bruning leaves today for a trip to Egypt, Israel and Jordan sponsored by the Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit leadership organization.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.