Posted on 05/28/2004 3:28:38 PM PDT by Theodore R.
Will GOPer Pull Upset in South Dakota? by John Gizzi Posted May 28, 2004
With four days to go before the special U.S. House election in South Dakota, Republicans in the state and in Washington have begun to grow upbeat about retaining a seat they had privately written off less than a month ago.
Almost since the resignation of Republican Rep. Bill Janklow following his conviction on manslaughter charges, Democrat Stephanie Herseth (who drew an impressive 46% of the vote against Janklow in '02) has appeared a slam-dunk. A win by lawyer Herseth--grand-daughter of a former governor, daughter of a past gubernatorial nominee--over Republican State Sen. Larry Diederich would unquestionably boost Democratic chances (and fund-raising) for recapture of the House itself in the fall. Polls showed Herseth with double digit leads over the lesser-known Diederich.
But earlier this week, it was growing obvious that Diederich had narrowed the gap through hard-campaigning, closely associating himself with President Bush (who holds a 51% to 35% statewide lead over John Kerry, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader poll), and spirited attacks on Herseth's support from outside left-wing groups such as EMILY's List. One Democratic survey reportedly showed Herseth barely clinging to a one-percentage point edge over her hard-charging opponent.
So worried were Democratic powers about the race that Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) began campaigning for Herseth. At one rally last Saturday, Johnson told a cheering crowd "how sweet it's going to be" when Herseth wins and "the Taliban wing of the Republican Party finds out what's happening in South Dakota."
Overnight, Republicans from National Chairman Ed Gillespie on down demanded that Johnson apologize and that Herseth and other Democrats disassociate themselves from remarks which State GOP Chairman Randy Frederick described as "an attack on the character of all Republicans in South Dakota." The Argus Leader, which had recently endorsed Herseth, also demanded an apology from Johnson. Three days after his incendiary remarks, the senator said (according to UPI) "he was sorry if he had offended anyone and that he wished he had been able to elaborate more on what he meant by comparison." This was followed with a blast from the Mitchell (S.D.) Daily Republic over the quality of the apology.
John Gizzi is Political Editor of HUMAN EVENTS
Well, this is a bit of welcome news.
done...2 absentees signed, sealed, and delivered a month ago. Get out the vote! Seal the graveyards!
Sure would be nice. By the way, I read in the paper today that the Jaklow (sp?) guy PARDONED his own son-in-law for drug and DUI crap. Sheeeeeesh! Good riddens to him.
And this was supposed to HELP her?
And, the Mitchell (S.D.) Daily Republic today endorsed Larry Diedrich for Congress. This is going to be a nail-biter.
I used to be a Janklow supporter, but with him on the sidelines, it's started to come clear that Janklow was likely part of the problem. Earlier this year, talk was that the Janklow pubbies would support Daschle. Janklow and Daschle were awfully buddy-buddy for many years. If we lose his seat, we only have him to blame.
I will fall out of my chair if Herseth loses. I'd peg her odds at 75%.
No matter who wins next week, expect the same two to face off in November. And there I'd have to give a slight edge to Diedrich with Dubya atop the ticket. (Although Daschle obviously draws ticket splitters.)
The state universities are out of session, and I think most of her votes last time were "not Janklow" votes. I'd peg her odds at 75% against winning.
And in the spirit of being contrary, I'll fall out of my chair (crying) if Herseth wins.
That's great. It would shock the political world if she loses.
Now if we can only get McAuliffe to speak out on her behalf, it would cinch a win for Diedrich. :-p
I, along with the other four voters in this household, shall proudly cast our votes for Larry Diedrich at the Rockerville Fire Hall on Tuesday morning.
I'm afraid it will be a very late night on Tuesday.
Good luck in SD. Special elections have low turnout and turnout is key here.
I took the day off and plan to help out any way I can. Probably help to haul voters in the jeep. The GOP website showed a picture of some of the 140 or so vans and SUV's that came in last night from Wisconsin and Minnesota at the behest of DailyKOS and the DNC, all for Princess Stephanie. It never ceases to amaze me that Rats can generally stop everything at the drop of a hat to go to a rent-a-mob scene. If I told my boss I needed a couple days off to go work at a political event in MN he'd tell me to stop and look for a job while I was there.
Then, if Diedrich wins, the entire story will instantly be dropped, never to be heard again.
(steely)
I saw parts of the debate..C-span had it live...and wll probably repeat it a few times over the weekend..Larry looked very sincere..coems across well..She ducked most of the questions, escpecially the one on same-sex marriage...I don't think she did well..do you have any links to local reports on the debate/
Hopeful bump!
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