This is good news. I thought this seat was a walkover for the Dems.
Republican closes gap in the S.D. House race
By Peter Savodnik - The Hill
Republican Larry Diedrich is running neck and neck with Stephanie Herseth, his Democratic rival in South Dakota’s upcoming special House election, an independent poll to be released tonight shows.
The poll gives Herseth 47 percent, compared to Diedrich’s 44 percent, marking a huge gain for the Republican. Earlier this year, Diedrich trailed Herseth by nearly 30 points.
The three-point spread falls within the survey’s four-point margin of error.
The poll was conducted by television station KELO, an ABC affiliate, in Sioux Falls. Mark Millage, the station’s news director, did not return telephone calls seeking more information about the poll.
One Democratic aide said the poll numbers reflected Diedrich’s growing name recognition. “There’s definitely been some narrowing,” the aide said. “Nobody knew who he was. I think he introduced himself to voters, and it’s a conservative state, and he got the low-hanging fruit.”
The Democrat also said that Herseth maintains a wider lead than some of the poll numbers indicate. The aide pointed out that while Herseth has a statistically insignificant edge when it comes to voters who are certain to vote June 1, she holds a nine-point lead among a larger pool of voters who are only likely to cast ballots.
Whatever the case, the new poll shows that Diedrich is a serious contender and that the Democrats can no longer count on picking up the at-large seat, which was vacated earlier this year by Rep. Bill Janklow (R). Janklow spent 100 days behind bars for his role in accidentally killing a motorcyclist; he was released yesterday.
When the state Republican Central Committee endorsed Diedrich in late January, the former state senator, who resigned to run for Congress, was unknown to most voters and had far less money than Herseth, a lawyer. At that time, she had more than $354,000 on hand, compared to Diedrich’s $34,000.
In the first quarter of this year, Herseth raised just over $1 million compared to Diedrich’s $888,000. Herseth had close to $914,000 in the bank; Diedrich had nearly $757,000.
Herseth narrowly lost a 2002 House bid against Janklow. Republicans have called the Democrat, who comes from a well-known political family in South Dakota,
likable and have largely refrained from attacking her.
In a Feb. 5-7 Mason-Dixon poll, voters preferred Herseth to Diedrich by 58 percent to 29 percent.
Yesterday, spokesmen for both campaigns declined to comment on the new poll numbers.
Danielle Holland, Diedrich’s press secretary, said the Republican was on a bus tour Monday with 40 to 50 volunteers from Rapid City to Sioux Falls.
Herseth spokesman Russ Levsen said the candidate would be in Sioux Falls; Pierre, the state capital; and up and down the I-29 corridor this week.
The candidates will take part in a debate Thursday sponsored by KELO and the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader, in Sioux Falls. On Sunday, Herseth will campaign with Sens. Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson, both South Dakota Democrats. |
