Tick…. Tick…. Tick….. I think the Democrats are closer to conceding every minute.
From the editorial board at the Mitchell Daily Republic:
Thune, for his part, continues to look toward a challenge. He told The Associated Press last week that he is “expecting a competitive race and a stiff challenge.”
As for the Democrats, state party chairwoman Cheryl Chapman said it’s not too late for the state’s minority party to field a candidate. “It seems to be late,” she said, “because everybody starts running for office very early.”
Both Thune and Chapman are saying the right things, and perhaps both truly mean their comments. Anyone who follows politics in South Dakota probably knows better.
and..
If the Democrats had a great candidate ready to step up to face Thune, we figure we would have heard about it by now.
I think I’d hate to be the SDDP Chair who conceded the Senate Race without a candidate, as they’ve been known to do in State Constitutional races.
(Almost as bad as Judy Olson who was raising money for Pat O’Brien while Jack Billion was running for Governor.)
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Comments
Tom Daschle can never be beat in a fair election. He comes back to his home state, once a year and drives himself to every county of the state, just to visit with the people. He was the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, thus controls the tempo of the Senate. He is also known for bring home the bacon. Making sure South Dakota gets it share of federal dollars. He is our good’ol boy leading the way, It is not possible that anyone would vote for anyone other than South Dakota’s Golden Boy……Who did John Thune beat agian?
I agree with AR, Thune is unbeatable unless he is found in bed with a live boy or a dead woman.
The only candidate that is out there, would be one that is getting their name recognition up. Remember Stephanie Herseth?
I am glad that I don’t have to run with the Liberals on my ticket, people thought Bush was a drag. Any Democrat will have to distance themselves from Obama, Pelosi and Reid. I will bet anyone we won’t see any of those three clowns in SD stumping for Sandlin. Thune gets 78% of the vote!
Jim Hundstad for US Senate!!!
I read he just hosted an event with the US Secretary of Ag and Herseth Sandlin at his farm near Aberdeen.
Perhaps they were putting the hammer down on him to run against Thune?
Hundstad could deffinately give Thune a run!
I know I should shut up about this but… watching Johnson vote totally wrong every day he is in the senate makes me Ticked off at Thune for sitting on the sidelines and not endorsing Dykstra in 2008.
Just really dissapointed me that we all didn’t come together at a time that was important to the future of our state.
Pickles it makes me even madder as I voted for him, a vote wasted). I thought he would always put South Dakota ahead of party politics. Dumb Dumb oldguy.
I guess no Dems have the b–ls to run against Thune as a sacrificial lamb like Repubs did against Herseth. Just like the Dems don’t have the b–ls to primary Herseth.
Hundstad is a single tiny newfangled Christmas bush bulb, one of those kind where you throw the whole string away when it burns out, compared to Thune’s Megawattage Superbulbous Light-house-like brilliance.
When did Thune declare his candidacy against Daschle? Oh yeah: January 5, 2004. From Professor Lauck:
“On the night of his announcement, Thune revealed a critical component of his early strategy. He started his speech by saying, ‘I believe the last campaign season was way too long, that South Dakotans are still weary from it, and I don’t sense that anyone is ready for the next campaign season to begin.’ Thune sought a ’short, compressed campaign season,’ a strategic decision that would guide his campaign in the early months” [Jon Lauck, Daschle vs. Thune: Anatomy of a High-Plains Senate Race, 2007, p. 40].
From the few times I have shook hands with Mr. Dykstra, I found him to be quite personable, well spoken, and truly believes in our State. That alone doesn’t make a good Senator, but it is a good start.
I agree that Dykstra was a good candidate. He was not allowed to run a decent campaign against an essentially absent and invisible candidate, except for the always present aura of “pity me,” “I’m a nice guy, vote for me again,” blah blah anytime any criticism was leveled his way. Well, this past summer he was once again absent and invisible except for a few well staged “round table” meetings not open to the public. Maybe Dykstra would have won, maybe he wouldn’t, if the campaign had been fair, but we will never know and now we have what we have, a good solid 60th vote in the Senate for whatever crackpot idea that Reid et al dream up, regardless of whether it is good for SD and regardless of what the majority of SD’ans want. And Johnson is still absent and invisible BTW. Some things never change.
I sat by Dykstra for supper at a Gov’s Hunt. I found him to be a bore as he never said one word to the table. I only knew who he was because he had a shirt with his name on it. It would seem to me that he would have been all over the people at that event.
Jim Hunstad would be a good person to take on Thune. He might not win but he would make a race out of it.
I think Hundstad is a regular guy who would appeal to many rural farmers and businessman in the state. He is definately better than Matt McGovern.
Daschle would probably fundraise for him! Also he is on a good footing with Rep Herseth.
Hundstad is a well liked individual in North Eastern SD!
Well Pat – If you were a state Democrat would YOU want to run against Senator Thune?
Especially with the strong possibility that in the near future Senator Johnson is going to retire…smart money would have Representative Herseth –Sandlin trying to move to the Senate, and having the chance to run for an open house seat…
Anybody who would have a chance to make an actual run at the office (and you will note I am not saying beat Senator Thune…just raise enough money and make a run at the office) is most likely smart enough to wait for a better chance to actually win an office. Senator Thune (baring some unforeseen scandal the likes of which William Jefferson, Mark Sanford and/or Mark Foley would need a month of brainstorming to come up with) is for the most part unassailable. Not that I personally wouldn’t love to see him loose and loose big…but it isn’t (again – barring the above scandal) going to happen. Even with said scandle – it would be about a 50/50 shot of Senator Thune getting elected.
I would expect that someone will step up to declare and run against Senator Thune and suffer a Bruce Whalen like defeat…They just need to find a sacrificial lamb who is cool with loosing and loosing badly. If only Ron Volesky hadn’t decided to go for Governor.