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Posted on 06/02/2004 9:59:01 AM PDT by martin_fierro
Democrat Wins Election for Janklow's Seat
By JOE KAFKA
Associated Press Writer
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.
Democrats looking ahead to November got a bounce with the victory of Stephanie Herseth in a special election, marking the party's second straight congressional triumph and snatching a House seat in a heavily GOP-leaning state.
Herseth, a member of one of the state's most distinguished political families, narrowly defeated Republican Larry Diedrich in Tuesday's poll. She will immediately fill the seat of Bill Janklow, who resigned his seat before he went to jail over a deadly auto accident.
"We ran a positive, truthful campaign based on issues, not negative attacks," Herseth, 33, told a room of cheering, chanting supporters early Wednesday. She vowed to "always do what's right for the entire state."
Herseth now will serve out the seven months left in Janklow's term. She and Diedrich will meet again in November to compete for a full two-year term, but Herseth will have the advantage of incumbency in holding South Dakota's lone House seat.
The race was closely watched by national parties eager to pick up momentum ahead of the fall campaign.
The Republican and Democratic House campaign committees waged media blitzes in South Dakota, pouring $2 million into TV ads in a rural state of 765,000 people. In March, Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned for Diedrich in South Dakota. The parties also sent waves of supporters to the state to mobilize voters.
Herseth's win coincided with Democratic claims that a national tide is running their way. Recent polling shows support slumping for President Bush as well as for the Republican majority in the House.
Even after victories in South Dakota and in a special congressional election in Kentucky earlier this year, Democrats still must pick up 11 more seats in November to gain control of the House.
Republicans disputed Democratic claims about an anti-GOP trend. They noted that Herseth began the race with a huge lead, the residue of having run unsuccessfully for the seat in 2002.
They also emphasized that Diedrich had managed to close the margin in the polls dramatically in the race's final weeks.
Herseth won 51 percent, or 132,377 votes, to 49 percent, or 129,396 votes for Diedrich, a farmer, former state lawmaker and onetime head of the American Soybean Association.
Herseth is a Georgetown-educated lawyer who left the East Coast to launch a political career back home. She gained name recognition after running a close race in 2002 against Janklow, a Republican who moved to Congress after four terms as governor.
He resigned from Congress in January after being convicted of manslaughter in an accident that killed a motorcyclist. He served 100 days in jail and was released last month.
Diedrich, 46, and Herseth have both supported President Bush on the war in Iraq. The campaign instead focused on prescription drugs, Medicare, Bush's tax cuts and veterans issues.
Herseth's grandfather was governor and her father a longtime state lawmaker. She grew up on the family farm in north-central South Dakota before leaving for Georgetown, where she received both her undergraduate and law degrees.
The razor-thin contest was reminiscent of another recent high-profile South Dakota election that also went down to the wire. In 2002, Sen. Tim Johnson narrowly defeated Rep. John Thune after a campaign also marked by heavy advertising from both national parties.
"Compared to 524 votes, over 2,000 is a landslide here in South Dakota," Herseth said, referring to Johnson's margin over Thune.
Once Herseth is sworn in, Republicans will have 228 seats, to 206 for the Democrats with one Democratic-leaning independent.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Alabama voters chose Republican nominees for three seats on the Alabama Supreme Court _ races that became a referendum on ousted Chief Justice Roy Moore and his Ten Commandments monument. Moore was expelled from the bench by a judicial ethics panel for refusing to remove the 2 1/2-ton granite monument from the state courthouse rotunda.
Former Moore aide Tom Parker defeated Justice Jean Brown, another pro-Moore court candidate lost, while another was trailing in a four-way race that could lead to a runoff. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Parker had 51 percent to Brown's 49 percent.
The Ten Commandments dispute also figured in the GOP primary for a U.S. House seat. Moore's attorney, Phillip Jauregui, was soundly defeated by six-term Rep. Spencer Bachus.
In New Mexico, Gary King, a former legislator and deputy Energy Secretary, won a Democratic congressional primary and will face GOP Rep. Steve Pearce in a district Democrats view as competitive in November. King is the son of former three-time Gov. Bruce King, the longest serving governor in state history.
Another story last week (still looking for it) revealed that the pardons Janklow had granted were unsealed by a court. He gave one to his own jackass son-in-law.
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I thought this was supposed to be a one sided big blowout for the dem!
As Governor, Janklow Pardoned Son-In-Law Of 3 Convictions
Unsealed Documents Show 218 Pardons, 214 By Janklow
POSTED: 2:35 pm EDT May 28, 2004
UPDATED: 2:50 pm EDT May 28, 2004
PIERRE, S.D. -- Former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow pardoned his son-in-law in 2002 of two drunken-driving convictions and one for marijuana possession, according to newly unsealed documents.
After a challenge by news organizations, 218 previously sealed pardons were opened. All but four of the pardons were issued by Janklow.
A convicted felon himself and former congressman, Janklow acknowledged some of the pardons, saying many were issued to people who committed crimes of youth.
Janklow told The Associated Press he pardoned his son-in-law -- William Gordon Haugen II -- after he assured Janklow he had turned his life around.
Janklow was elected to Congress in 2002 but resigned last year after being convicted of manslaughter in an auto accident that killed a motorcyclist from Minnesota. He served 100 days in jail.
Bernie Sanders? He leans pinko.
This is a very good example of why I refuse to join the GOP, and remain a lifelong registered Independent.
Had Janklow resigned, its very likely his GOP replacement would have won this easily.
Then again, had Janklow not been a complete and total horse's ass, a motorcyle rider would be alive today. I'll always remember this wasn't the first time Janklow ran this very same stop sign.
"Only 3,000 votes separated them. If Bush does well in S.D.in November, both Herseth and Dashole will be out. It makes no sense that an essentially Republican state has only Democrats in its Congressional delegation."
that is what i thought in 02 when Thune went against Johnson
SD continues to disappoint
i really hope that this is not the canary in the mine and that we are looking at a Dem sweep!
North Dakota does too. The Democrats run and win on one issue only - how much money they bring back to the state. They will continue to win until the Republican leadership wakes up to this and shuts off the tap.
I hate to see a Democrat win that seat, but Janklow is beneath contempt.
First loss of the election cycle for the RNC. How many more?
In name only. SSino
Democrat win in a heavily Republican area.. gee, guess some of us out here really don't know what we're talking about...
Diedrich, 46, and Herseth have both supported President Bush on the war in Iraq. The campaign instead focused on prescription drugs, Medicare, Bush's tax cuts and veterans issues.Note to republicans - you can't win elections by pandering on democratic issues. Dems will always be there pushing for for more. In order to win, republicans need to stand up on conservative issues and make the case for them.
Janklow is a inded the sort of horses rump that can ruin the GOP in a small state for 2 or 3 elections to come. Sure it's a Republican state. But it's a small place where everyone knoews everyone else at least indirectly, and the personal stuff means a lot. Even if a few Republicans stay home, the bad guys win.
Even worse, Republicans will vote against the Republican, or for the Democrat, on strictly personal grounds.
Blowout or not, close only counts in horeshoes. This stinks!
Huh? We have Republican Congress and Republican Administration and these guys are still able to sneak some dollars in? Unbelievable.
I applaud Republican leadership for bringing down federal money to Massachusetts from $1.01 to $0.75 per $1 of taxes. I suppose that SD situation has to be fixed ASAP.
How can it be an essentially Republican state when it's congressional delegation is completely democrats?
Let's get it straight, South Dakota is currently a Democratic state.
I'm very disappointed that a Harvard lawyer beat a farmer for this congressional seat.
No Republican or Conservative in their right mind would vote for a yuppie lawyer.
Only a Democrat would.
The race was turning when Tim Johnson opened his ugly mouth with the Taliban comment. Then the Dems managed to find out about pardons and further sullied the GOP with Janklow. This race was a defeat for the GOP because of that slime Janklow and either depressed GOP turnout or caused people to vote against the GOP because of him.
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