Thune targets Daschle

SIOUX FALLS - South Dakota will again have one of the most watched U.S. Senate races this year after an announcement Monday by John Thune that he will challenge Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

''Starting tomorrow I will begin filing the necessary paperwork to enable me to raise money and start organizing a campaign for the United States Senate,'' Thune, a Republican, told a GOP gathering in Sioux Falls.

Thune, 42, said last month he would not be a candidate for his old job - the U.S. House seat now held by Republican Rep. Bill Janklow, who plans to resign Jan. 20 and is scheduled to be sentenced two days later for causing a fatal accident that killed a motorcyclist. A special election will be held June 1 to fill Janklow's seat.

While South Dakotans aren't ready for another long campaign, it takes time to raise money and put together a staff for a race that will shape the country for years to come, said Thune, who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Tim Johnson in 2002.

''The 2004 election will be historic and defining,'' said Thune, who expects to formally announce his plans in about a month.

Thune, who served in the House from 1997-2003, said he was asked to run for the House again and did think about it but concluded the Senate is in need of leadership and decided that is where he can make the biggest difference.

In a statement, Daschle said the question that should drive the 2004 election is what is best for South Dakota.

''My leadership position in the Senate gives South Dakota an unprecedented opportunity to put our priorities on the national agenda and deliver for this great state,'' Daschle said.

''I look forward to this campaign as an opportunity to discuss my record of accomplishment for South Dakota,'' he said.

Republicans hold a 51-48 majority in the Senate, with one Democrat-leaning independent. Five Democratic senators and two Republicans plan to retire after the current term.

Unlike 2002, when President Bush invited Thune and his wife to dinner and lobbied for him to run, the decision to enter the race this year depended on advice from family and people from South Dakota, said Thune.

''We made this decision without a lot of input from folks in Washington, D.C.,'' Thune told reporters Monday evening. ''This is really John Thune and the people across South Dakota driving this thing.''

Thune lost the 2002 Senate election by 524 votes. In that race, Thune and Johnson each spent about $6 million on their campaigns. Third-party groups spent an estimated $12 million on behalf of each.

Daschle has set a goal of raising at least $10 million for his re-election and started airing television commercials in July.

Thune said he isn't worried about Daschle's financial and organizational head start and he doesn't think he will have a problem raising the money needed to run his campaign.

''I don't know how you can spend that amount of money anyway,'' he said of the $10 million Daschle hopes to raise.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said a Thune-Daschle matchup means a lot of GOP money will also flow into South Dakota.

Daschle, 56, has won seven statewide elections, and his last two Senate terms with more than 60 percent of the vote. He's running for a fourth Senate term after previously serving in the House.

An independent public opinion poll conducted Oct. 30- Nov. 2 in South Dakota showed Daschle with 50 percent support to 44 percent for Thune. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

''This is going to be one of Daschle's toughest races ever, House or Senate. It's going to be another one of those 500-vote races,'' Sabato said.

Neal Tapio of Sioux Falls said he had been exploring a run against Daschle. He earlier said that if Thune got in, he would get out.

As he did in 2002, Thune is expected to contend that he could work with President Bush and an expected Republican majority in the House and Senate to get things done for South Dakota.

''If he loses both Senate seats, he's finished,'' he said. ''This is his last shot.''

From the frozen tundra -

Thune aims to unseat Daschle
David Kranz
Argus Leader
published: 01/06/2004

'It's about making a difference'

Republicans stood and cheered Monday night when former Rep. John Thune said he would be their party's candidate against Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

The long wait for Thune ended when he left his home, where he had been sick in bed, to bring his decision to a crowd of 350 faithful at Lincoln County's Lincoln Day Dinner.

"Starting tomorrow I will begin filing the paperwork necessary to begin raising money for a campaign for the U.S. Senate," Thune said in a short speech. "It's not about holding office. It's about making a difference."

The confirmation of Thune's candidacy marks the beginning of what is expected to be the latest in a half century of classic elections for U.S. Senate in South Dakota. That list includes Karl Mundt and George McGovern in 1960, Jim Abdnor and McGovern in 1980, Daschle and Abdnor in 1986, Larry Pressler and Tim Johnson in 1996, and Thune and Johnson in 2002.

The November general election is 10 months away and Thune, 42, was sometimes criticized even in his own party for waiting until the new year to make his intentions known. But the wait was about a desire not to put people though a long campaign, not indecision, he said.

For a time he listened to voters who wanted him to run for the U.S. House seat that will be vacated by Republican Rep. Bill Janklow, but he rejected it.

"I had people encouraging me to run for House. But the House isn't where the problem is. The House is going to be just fine. I don't know of a place more in the need of leadership than the U.S. Senate," he said.

He made only indirect references to Daschle, never mentioning the three-term incumbent's name.

"South Dakota needs leadership that puts us first and represents South Dakota values," he said, rekindling a theme from his unsuccessful 2002 race against Johnson.

"We need to put aside partisanship and the politics of obstruction and give the leadership that is right for our country," he said.

Daschle responded to Thune's announcement with a prepared statement, reminding people of his influence.

"One question should guide this election. What is best for South Dakota? My leadership position in the Senate gives South Dakota an unprecedented opportunity to put our priorities on the national agenda," he said.

Daschle said he has worked with presidents of both parties to do what is best for South Dakota, including "convincing President Clinton to veto legislation that would devastate recreation on the Missouri River and to reject California's request not to use ethanol as required by law, or whether it was working with President Bush this last year to enact forest health legislation that will be a big benefit to the people in the Black Hills."

In an interview following his speech, Thune said the election will come down to 30,000 or 40,000 undecided voters.

"The reason we lost the last time was because of the clout argument. This time we will talk about the future, about Tom Daschle's record and whether clout is an issue anymore," he said.

Running against Daschle won't be a simple task, he said.

"I realize I go into the race as the underdog," he said.

President Bush invited Thune to the White House in 2001 to convince him to run for the Senate against Johnson rather than for governor.

This time there was no pressure, Thune said.

"I had discussions with people from the White House from time to time, but there was no concerted effort. It was leave Thune alone and let him make his own decision on his time.' They realized this and the White House backed off. I appreciated it," Thune said.

His new campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, joined him for the announcement at C.J. Callaway's restaurant in southern Sioux Falls.

Wadhams comes to the campaign from the press office of Republican Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado. Wadham brings with him John Wood, who also worked for Allard. Wood is the first cousin of Karl Rove, President Bush's top political advisor.

Wadhams said there will be a more formal announcement of Thune's candidacy coming in a few weeks. That will involve trips to several communities in the state, including a likely stop in the candidate's hometown of Murdo.

Republicans were elated that they finally had their candidate.

"I believe John made a wise and thoughtful decision. We in the Sioux Empire understand that it is time to support President Bush, not interfere with his plans to move our country forward," said R. Shawn Tornow, Minnehaha County Republican Party chair.

Dr. Bonnie Omdahl, a radiologist of Sioux Falls, said Thune's candidacy puts things in perspective.

"He is an honest individual who has South Dakota interests at heart. He's the only one who can beat Tom Daschle because he has had a good track record in Congress," she said.

The announcement ends Neal Tapio's exploratory committee for the Senate. The Sioux Falls Republican said he will stay active in politics, though and is supporting Thune.

"This is one of the boldest decisions in his career. People wanted him to run for the House because it was an easy win. This is a tough race, but it is the right thing to do. The challenge now is to get Republicans to believe he can win," Tapio said.

Former state Sen. Don Frankenfeld, of Rapid City, a one-time challenger to then-Rep. Tim Johnson, likes Thune, but is one Republican who can't support him.

"John Thune has contributed to our state and nation, but this is not the time for him to be running. I think he will be defeated by Sen. Daschle, and I hate to see that happen. While I don't agree with Senator Daschle on all philosophic issues, I don't think there is any doubt that he is a courageous leader and his ability to speak and lead courageously is good for our country," Frankenfeld said.

In a phone interview, Frankenfeld said he was upset with the tone of the 2002 Senate race and called on the candidates to avoid that from happening again.

"I was disgusted at the level the political discourse had sunk. I don't look forward to that again. I would like to see a civil campaign based on ideas, one that recognizes that we have two decent people contesting against each other," he said.

Thune, a former aide to Sen. Abdnor, was elected to the House in 1996 and served three terms before deciding to challenge Johnson in 2002. He lost that race by 524 votes.

Thune had the public support from President Bush who made four trips in 2002 to the state on his behalf. Most of them were marked by problems.

The president failed to bring drought aide to the largely Republican West River farm and ranch community during an Aug. 15 election. A ticketing snafu at Bush's Oct. 29 visit to Aberdeen left up to 2,000 people in 12-degree weather.

Then Bush returned on Nov. 3 to the Sioux Falls Arena to address a crowd of supporters and staff. That again brought brought criticism. Instead of preparing get-out-the-vote efforts, Republican staff members were busy getting ready for the Bush visit. The vote in Pennington County, a Republican stronghold, showed a particularly significant decline.

State Democrats were put on the defensive with voter-fraud allegations on some of the state's Native American reservations. The State Democratic Party's Coordinated Campaign paid people to get absentee vote applications, and that resulted in allegations of fraud. Charges were made that Democrats stole the election from Thune, but Republican Attorney General Mark Barnett said evidence of fraud was not "massive" as claimed by Republicans.

After the 2002 election, Thune started The Thune Group, a lobbying firm that lists Sioux Valley Hospital and the DM&E Railroad among its clients. He also serves on the board of directors for First Midwest Financial Inc., a bank holding company based in Storm Lake, Iowa, and is a consultant to the Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn law firm based in Washington, D.C.

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