Free Republic

Herseth Sandlin passes on Senate run, leaving Republicans with early edge to win seat. ... Democrats had targeted the onetime congresswoman, who served from 2004 to 2011, as their top recruit in a seat currently held by retiring Sen. Tim Johnson. Even if Johnson had decided to run for another term, Republicans would have considered the solidly-Republican state one of their top pickup opportunities of the 2014 election. ... The state's former GOP governor, Mike Rounds, has already declared he will seek the Republican Party's nomination. While Rounds announced his campaign early and has high name-identification in the state, he...

Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate. The two-pronged effort has prompted Republicans to accuse the Senate Democratic leadership of hypocrisy, but Democrats say it is simply smart politics. The question is whether two of the Democrats’ most promising potential candidates in Montana and South Dakota will pay a price for the leadership’s political maneuverings in Washington. Or will recruiting candidates who do not support President Obama’s gun control agenda have any effect on Democratic fundraising...

2014 retirements: Dems heading for the hills By: Alexander Burns April 23, 2013 04:49 PM EDT Doesn’t anyone want to run for Senate in 2014? Midway through candidate recruitment season, the bad news for Democrats is this: They are watching a generation of talent leave the Senate and head for retirement. The less-bad news: So far, few marquee-name Republicans are interested in these seats either. When Montana Sen. Max Baucus called it quits on Tuesday, he became the latest in a long series of senior legislators to announce that they’ve had quite enough of life on the Hill. National Democrats...

Kristi Noem has been dubbed the “next Sarah Palin,” but she’s keen on distancing herself from that title. “I respect Sarah Palin and her service as Governor of Alaska and as the Vice Presidential nominee in 2008,” said Noem in an interview. “A lot of people have tried to put labels on me, but right now I’m focused on being Kristi Noem and getting my message out to South Dakotans.” Noem is the Republican candidate in South Dakota’s lone House race, and is polling dead even with her opponent, Stephani Herseth Sandlin, who has held the seat since 2004. Noem’s...

Republican Kristi Noem has edged back into the lead over incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin in South Dakota’s U.S. House race. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in South Dakota finds Noem with 47% support, while Herseth-Sandlin earns 44% of the vote. Six percent (6%) like another candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) It remains a very close race. Noem fell slightly behind Herseth-Sandlin last month 47% to 45% for the first time since winning the Republican Primary in early June. Noem, it appears, is beginning to...

The air war is under way. Republican congressional candidate Kristi Noem aired her first general election TV ad Tuesday while Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., aired her fourth of the campaign. Noem targets what she terms out-of-control spending in Washington, D.C., in the 30-second spot that features images of the candidate as well as South Dakota icons such as a buffalo and Mount Rushmore. “The government is here to serve the people, not the other way around,” Noem says in the ad. Spending is an issue that plays well in the state, Noem said.“No matter where I travel in our...

Hot Springs, South Dakota Want a measure of how bad November 2 could be for the Democrats? Take a look at South Dakota—home of the Badlands, the Corn Palace, Mt. Rushmore, and a Democratic party that we know isn’t dead only because from time to time it twitches in its sleep.

Television ads are a window into the soul of a campaign And, it's why a new ad from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D), who finds herself in a tough race against state Rep. Kristi Noem this fall, caught our eye.

Former TV comedian Al Franken continues to demonstrate why he's not ready for prime time in the Senate. Last week, GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was giving a serious speech on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. He noticed Senator Franken, who was in the presiding officer's chair in front of him, gesticulating and making faces at him as he criticized Ms. Kagan. "Senate aides said they were shocked that Franken would flout the decorum of the chamber during such a solemn occasion," reported The Hill newspaper. After he had finished, Mr. McConnell made clear he wasn't...

The latest on South Dakota from Rasmussen: The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey, conducted two nights after the primary, finds Noem attracting 53% of the vote, while Herseth-Sandlin earns just 41%. Just five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate or are undecided. Prior to the primary, the incumbent held a three-point advantage over Noem. In April, Noem trailed by 15 points. It remains to be seen whether the bounce reflects a temporary aberration or signals a lasting change in the race. Incumbents who poll below 50% are considered potentially vulnerable, and Herseth-Sandlin has been below that mark all year....

With South Dakota’s Republican Primary just a week away, the three top GOP hopefuls are now all running closely competitive races with Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin. The latest Ramussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in South Dakota shows Herseth-Sandlin edging Chris Nelson, South Dakota’s secretary of state, 47% to 43%. A month ago, she posted a 45% to 41% lead over Nelson. But now Herseth-Sandlin holds a similar narrow 46% to 43% lead over State Representative Kristi Noem. A month ago, the incumbent led Noem by 15 points – 50% to 35%. Also much closer this month is the...

PIERRE — U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin wanted to obtain lists of South Dakotans who purchased hunting and fishing licenses in 2009 from the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks.

Stephanie Herseth is no longer the underdog. In fact, the newcomer candidate holds a slight edge over political powerhouse, Governor Bill Janklow in the race for South Dakota's seat in the U.S. House. It's the second KELOLAND News Election poll in which Herseth's held a slight lead. When the KELOLAND News Election poll showed registered South Dakota voters favored Herseth in August, the Janklow campaign said the Governor hadn't hit the campaign trail yet. Now with less than four weeks until the election, our exclusive poll shows Janklow still hasn't made up any ground. When Governor Bill Janklow entered the...