WASHINGTON – Republican Kristi Noem’s campaign
reported raising more than $1.1 million from July
through September, twice the amount incumbent
Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth
Sandlin collected.
Noem, a Castlewood rancher and state legislator,
also leads Herseth Sandlin in cash on hand, with
almost $777,000 compared to about $500,000 for
the Democrat, according to figures released by each
campaign Monday.
In a difficult political environment nationally for
Democrats, Herseth Sandlin had been able to count
on a significant fundraising edge to pay for ads and
other campaign resources to win over voters. But
the latest figures suggest that Democratic money
either is drying up or, worse, that supporters are
losing confidence in the incumbent, said Ken
Blanchard, a political science professor at Northern
State University in Aberdeen, who also runs a
conservative blog.
“Raising half the funds of a challenger in a race
where you’re tied or behind in the polls is a very
bad sign for an incumbent,” he said.
A Rasmussen Reports poll released last week of 500
likely voters showed Noem with 47 percent and
Herseth Sandlin with 44 percent, a statistical draw
considering the survey’s 4.5 percent margin of
error. Some observers say the Rasmussen polls
typically lean toward Republican candidates.
Political handicappers say the South Dakota race is a
key to the GOP’s hopes of capturing the 39 seats
necessary to take over the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Although Herseth Sandlin has bucked her party on
significant votes, such as health care, climate
change and corporate bailouts, Republicans have
tried to make the race a referendum on Democratic
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama.
With a larger campaign war chest, Noem will be able
to pound that message to voters until the Nov. 2
election.
Noem’s three-month fundraising total is more than
what Herseth Sandlin’s Republican opponents raised
in 2006 and 2008 combined and indicates why the
incumbent is in the toughest re-election battle of
her career.
“South Dakotans have overwhelmingly responded to
our message with their support, both in terms of
volunteering their time and investing their
resources,” Noem said in a statement accompanying
the release of the numbers. “With their continued
support, I am confident we will have the resources
we need to run strong and win.”
Betsy Hart, deputy campaign manager for Herseth
Sandlin, said the campaign has “an aggressive plan
in place to talk to voters” during the next three
weeks about why they should re-elect Herseth
Sandlin.
The campaign finance reports, which detail
contributions and expenditures, are not officially
due until midnight Friday. Both campaigns declined
to release the full reports until later in the week.
B. Thomas Marking, an independent running in the
race, had raised barely more than $1,000 as of July
1.
The fundraising totals were released amid reports
that the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, the political arm of House Democrats,
Advertisement was cutting from $500,000 to $350,000 the amount
it set aside for Herseth Sandlin for possible
television ad buys in the final two weeks of the
campaign. There never was any guarantee that the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
would spend any of it, and the diversion of money
also might suggest that the committee wants to
spend it defending other incumbents who face
tougher races.
Congressional Democrats, as is their practice,
declined to talk about their strategies. But Rep. Chris
Van Hollen D-Md., who leads the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, said his
organization “has invested heavily in this race and
remains fully committed to Stephanie Herseth
Sandlin’s campaign.”
The race already has attracted plenty of outside
money.
The American Future Fund, a conservative group,
and the National Republican Congressional
Committee have combined to spend more than
$700,000 on television ads and other activities
against Herseth Sandlin since August, according to
the Federal Election Commission. A political action
committee representing the Credit Union National
Association just spent $143,000 on television time
to run an ad supporting the Democrat.
Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com.
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