NRCC MEMO: SOUTH DAKOTA PRIMARY RESULTS

TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: NRCC POLITICAL AND NRCC COMMUNICATIONS
DATE: JUNE 8, 2010
SUBJECT: SOUTH DAKOTA PRIMARY RESULTS

Like many Democrats representing Republican-leaning districts, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is finding that 2010 is a wholly different experience to the campaigns she ran in 2006 and 2008.

To know Herseth Sandlin is to recognize that her record and reality are completely at odds with each other. When talking to the good people of the Mount Rushmore State, Herseth Sandlin characterizes herself as a fiscally-responsible Democrat. However, her record in Washington is anything but. Herseth Sandlin proudly supported the $787 billion failed stimulus package, voted for the most fiscally irresponsible budget in history, and voted to sell more debt to countries like China by raising the national debt ceiling by $2.2 trillion. In a year in which the Democrats failed to muster up a candidate against Sen. John Thune, Herseth Sandlin may find it difficult to rally Democratic voters disenchanted with her ham-handed attempts at placating conservative factions within her delicate coalition. At the same time, her irresponsible record on key fiscal and economic issues has alienated independent voters and energized Republicans. Not since 2004 has Stephanie Herseth Sandlin been this vulnerable to a Republican challenge.

State Rep. Kirsti Noem defeated state Rep. Blake Curd and South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson in tonight’s primary for the right to take on Herseth Sandlin fall. Noem is essentially everything that Herseth Sandlin pretends to be: conservative and genuine with deep roots in South Dakota’s agriculture community. Simply put, Kristi Noem’s candidacy is what keeps Herseth Sandlin awake at night. Noem may have been a late entrant into this race, but her victory tonight proves that she can run a winning campaign against better known, and better funded, opponents.

History: South Dakota has voted for every Republican Presidential nominee since Richard Nixon in 1968. In 2004, George W. Bush won with 60% of the vote while John McCain won the state with 53% in 2008.

Geography: South Dakota is one of seven states with an At-Large Congressional District.

Statewide Roundup:

The following are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election in South Dakota. These results are UNOFFICIAL AND INCOMPLETE until certified by the South Dakota Secretary of State.

DISTRICT NAME RAW VOTE %__
*indicates incumbent

SD-AL (GOP primary)
90.2% precincts in
Noem 41.5%*
Nelson 35.4%
Curd 23.2%