Could South Dakota be in play?

[Ediacara]

Would a backlash from Janklow's possible light treatment re: manslaughter and Daschle's reelection possibly put the state into play in the presidential race? Thoughts?

[ButterflyBlood]

1. no

the Dakotas are, in actuality, almost as solidly Republican as Utah or Wyoming. The reason they elect Democratic senators is because the people don't care about the issues in congressional races, they care about what they can do for the state (aka bring in pork.) I used to live in ND, and that's mainly what Conrad, Dorgan and Pomeroy campaigned on, talk about agricultural pork, and medicare programs (since there are a lot of seniors). There are simply too many automatic GOP voters on the presidential level for anything not directly connected to Bush to make a difference.

[Ediacara]

2. Any other thoughts on this?

I don't believe that ND and SD are quite as conservative as many people think, (though not blue by any means). I was just wondering if in this election cycle, could there be enough coattails from anti-Janklow and from pro-Daschle to eak out a Dean (or other dem) win in South Dakota?

[TheYellowDog]

3. ND and SD

are about as conservative as Nebraska is, to give you an indication. Both are extremely socially conservative states on issues like abortion, gay rights, and gun control, but they sure do love pork.

[ButterflyBlood]

4. i used to live in ND

and yes, it is quite conservative. letters to the (fairly liberal) Bismarck comparing abortion to the Holocaust were frequent, and you even saw ones claiming Harry Potter was a tool of Satan were also there. Even though most residents are ethnically Catholic or Lutheran, fundie churches have been springing up on the outskirts of town very quickly. I don't think coattails will have much of an effect, since in 2000 Kent Conrad actually got more votes than Bush, but Bush still got over 60%. Lots of people are willing to vote for Democratic senators who bring home pork programs, but will never be happy with a liberal Democrat in the White House.

[jiacinto]

6. The Dakotas elect Democrats to Washington regularly

They just vote Republican for president and other races.

[jiacinto]

5. No

nt