The Country Club Republicans who ran the party in my day never put up serious challenges to the lesser offices with a determined full-time campaigner like PC&D. Fortunately, their grip on the party machinery has been loosened even as the Democrat party has tilted futher to the left as it has nationally. Sand is going to have a tough fight unless North Dakota has changed a lot since I left. The mentality is to keep re-electing incumbents and build seniority until and unless they do something totally stupid. However, in a landslide year (Reagan 1980), even popular incumbents down ticket can be beaten. Pomeroy is probably the least entrenched of the three, so may be Sand's best shot.