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Tensions are running high between guards and inmates at a D.C. jail housing many of the defendants in Jan. 6 cases, with at least one of those prisoners alleging that he was brutally beaten by correctional officers. For weeks, Capitol riot defendants being held in Washington have complained that they are locked in their cells with virtually no human contact for 23 hours a day. But a startling, graphic account offered publicly in court on Tuesday by one such inmate, Ronald Sandlin, went further: alleging that guards have subjected those charged in the Jan. 6 events to violence, threats and...

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...

Link only - Kristi Noem leads Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in raising money

Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D., has lost her lead, for now, vs. the GOP nominee, state Rep. Kristi Noem, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Noem enjoys a 53%-41% edge over Sandlin, a leader of the Blue Dog Democrats who voted no on ObamaCare. Noem could be enjoying a typical post-primary victory bounce, but Sandlin has been polling well below 50%, a dangerous area for incumbents.

Two new polls out from Rasmussen today suggest that even Democrats who voted against health care reform are in serious danger of losing their seats. The first shows that 54% of respondents favor repealing ObamaCare, essentially unchanged from last week. The second shows that Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., now leads one of her potential Republican challengers, Secretary of State Chris Nelson, by only 44%-42%. In February, she led 45%-38%. Herseth Sandlin, co-chair of the Blue Dogs, a group of more moderate Democrats, voted against the health care bill both in November and in March, and was outspoken against the...

The co-chairwoman of the Blue Dog Caucus said today she will oppose the Senate version of healthcare reform if it comes up for a vote in the House. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), who also voted against the original House bill, tolld reporters in a conference call that she oppposes the upper chamber's legislation, and she would not support any changes that come from the Senate via reconciliation. "I will not vote for the Senate bill as is," she said, according to the Rapid City Journal. "I will not vote for a package of changes that would go through the...

The Democratic brand in South Dakota is not very strong right now, and that has Stephanie Herseth Sandlin looking at her toughest fight for reelection since 2004 next year despite the fact that she herself is pretty popular. 52% of voters in the state disapprove of Barack Obama's job performance with just 41% approving. That makes him downright popular compared to Congressional Democrats who get a 60% disapproval rating with only 28% of South Dakotans giving them high marks. And when it comes to the Democratic health care bill that passed the House last month, which Herseth Sandlin prudently voted...

Incumbents who lost their bid for re-election: Georgia House 12. Republican Congressman Max Burns defeated by Democrat John Barrow Illinois House 8. Republican Congressman Philip Crane defeated by Democrat Melissa Bean Indiana Governor. Democratic Governor Joe Kernan defeated by Republican Mitch Daniels Indiana House 9. Democratic Congressman Baron Hill defeated by Republican Mike Sodrel New Hampshire Governor. Republican Governor Craig Benson defeated by Democrat John Lynch South Dakota Senate Class 3. Democratic Senator Tom Daschle defeated by Republican John Thune Texas House 1. Democratic Congressman Max Sandlin defeated by Republican Louis Gohmert Texas House 2. Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson defeated...

Redistricting doesn't stop Democrats Thursday, January 22, 2004 The re-redistricting bomb that U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay dropped on white Texas Democrats in Congress was huge. However, all but two have filed for re-election anyway. Wouldn't it be ironic if several won? Ralph Hall of Rockwall switched to the Republicans, whom he'd been with for years in all but the initial after his name, anyway. And Jim Turner of Crockett decided not to run again. With $1 million in his campaign bank, he says he might run for governor or the U.S. Senate in 2006. But the main Democrats targeted...