SURPRISE, Neb. - Republican Mike Johanns recalls that the first time he ran for governor in 1998 and spent the days before the primary touring small towns, a reporter asked him "What are you doing?"

"I said, 'We're going to win,"' Johanns said as he and his wife, Stephanie, traveled between recent appearances in David City and Surprise.

Stephanie Johanns jokingly refers to this year's Senate campaign as "the Johanns reunion tour," as the former governor and U.S. agriculture secretary visits dozens of towns, vying for seat to be vacated by Republican Chuck Hagel. The primary is Tuesday.

"We have always done a kind of a last push to Election Day," said Mike Johanns.

"I don't think Mike has anything to worry about," said Olga Janak of David City, where Johanns spoke at a senior center. "He's very well-known here."

Johanns is the heavy favorite to beat political newcomer Pat Flynn of Schuyler.

While the Democrats battle for their nomination, Johanns is building up steam across the state. He's organized volunteers in 86 of 93 counties so far and raised more than $2 million, helped by a December visit from President Bush.

The former agriculture secretary said he hopes to join the Senate's Agriculture Committee if he wins in November.

He's proud of his three years in the Cabinet and thinks most Nebraskans are, too.

But he's not afraid to differ with other Republicans on some points and spoke out recently about a comment from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain. McCain and some other senators asked the Environmental Protection Agency to halve this year's requirement for 9 billion gallons of corn ethanol, hoping to ease food costs.

"I will oppose any attempt to end this safety net to our agricultural community," Johanns said.

McCain and the others are sending a dangerous signal to other nations that could use the suggestion of cutting subsidies against U.S. trade negotiators, said Johanns.

"I'm not going to stand by when something is said by any candidate that I disagree with. It doesn't matter if they happen to be president or not president," Johanns said.

Nebraskans don't want government running their health care decisions, he said, and predicts a national health care system would create a massive bureaucracy.

"I think it would be a disaster for Nebraska," Johanns said. "It might be a great idea for L.A., New York, Chicago, some place. It's not a good idea for Nebraska."

He said he'll fight to maintain rural hospitals, which often are the only option for people in small Nebraska towns dozens of miles from the nearest large hospital.

Some Nebraskans are struggling to pay for gas, food, health care and other necessities, Johanns said, but a summer gas tax holiday - as proposed by McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton - is another bad idea.

"Gas is jumping up and down, and it is driven by the price of a barrel of oil," Johanns said. "So let's say you have a holiday and no one notices."

"It's just a policy approach that is fraught with a lot of problems," Johanns said.

Oil drilling in the United States, including in an Arctic wildlife refuge in Alaska, should be considered if it can be done in an environmentally safe way, he said.