House Dems On a Roll?

[Freddie Stubbs]

In South Dakota yesterday, Democrat Stephanie Herseth defeated Republican Larry Deidrich in a special election to replace at large GOP Congressman Bill Janklow, who resigned in January following a manslaughter conviction. In typical South Dakota fashion, the election was a nail-biter, with Herseth overcoming a multi-million-dollar barrage of national Republican TV ads in the closing weeks.

The 33-year-old Herseth ran a strong race against Janklow (a former governor and long-time SD political figure) in 2002, and attracted a lot of national attention, especially among New Democrats, as a future political star. Despite the heavy involvement of both national parties in the special election campaign, Herseth stayed focused on South Dakota issues, and ran an impeccably positive race. "We proved you can run a positive, truthful campaign based on issues, not negative attacks," said Herseth in claiming victory late last night.

Her win gives South Dakota its first all-Democratic Congressional delegation since 1937. While Herseth will immediately be sworn in as a member of Congress, where she is expected to compile a solid centrist record, she can hardly relax, since Diedrich will challenge her again for a full term in November. As in 2002, South Dakotans will be virtually stalked by political operatives and television ads, thanks to the state's small population and cheap advertising rates, and the high-profile battle between Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and GOP former Rep. John Thune.

From a national perspective, Herseth's victory means that House Democrats are two-for-two in special elections this year (the other winner being Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler), with both wins representing take-aways from the GOP in very red districts. Chandler won by 14 percentage points in a district Bush carried by 14 points in 2000. In Herseth's at large district, Bush won by 22 points in 2000.

more: http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=131&subid=192&contentid=252679