Anybody see the GOP House primary debate last night on KELO? What were your impressions? Are any of the GOP’s three candidates — Chris Nelson, Kristi Noem or Blake Curd — good enough to put up a serious challenge to Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in November?
Click here for a link to a news story about the debate.
While you’re here, take a minute to predict the winner:
As political theater goes, it doesn’t get much more fascinating than Thursday night’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Mitchell. The fundraiser drew four of the five GOP candidates for governor and all three of the GOP candidates for U.S. House, plus a bunch of the candidates for other offices. Click here to read our story about it.
The quip of the night, in my opinion, came from U.S. House candidate Kristi Noem when she said "I’m everything Herseth Sandlin says that she is."
There was so much meaning wrapped up in that one little sentence, it could be dissected many different ways. Essentially, though, Noem was saying that she actually is conservative, whereas she thinks Herseth Sandlin merely tries to appear that way.
I’ll be interested to see if Noem takes that statement and makes it a centerpiece of her campaign (maybe she’s already doing it; I’ve heard she’s running TV ads, but I haven’t seen them). If she does, it might be a smart move.
Why? Because people already see Noem as the Republican Herseth Sandlin, just because they’re both young, ambitious, politically minded women. That’s an oversimplification of them as people, but it’s the perception that’s out there. So Noem might as well go with it.
By saying she is "everything Herseth Sandlin says that she is," Noem has created for herself an easily remembered identity. And that’s something that I’m not sure her opponents, Chris Nelson and Blake Curd, will be able to create so readily.
Blake Curd, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, announced today that he’s started running a radio ad.
Here’s the script:
ANNOUNCER VOICE OVER:
The headlines are scary….bailouts, runaway spending, a government takeover of health care.Washington is out of control.
Blake Curd is running for Congress to shake things up.
A doctor, an Air Force Persian Gulf Veteran, Blake Curd has answered the call to serve.
BLAKE CURD:
This is Blake Curd.You know, Washington’s lost touch with what made America great.
Unchecked spending, tax hikes and bigger and bigger government are threatening our future.
Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin has had her chance, ….she hasn’t changed Congress, she’s become part of the problem. We need to send a message and really change direction, before it’s too late.
V/O: Dr. Blake Curd. He’ll cut wasteful spending and stop tax hikes, to get the economy back on track.
Blake Curd — not just another politician. Blake Curd, a principled, proven conservative leader… just what South Dakota needs.
BC: I’m Blake Curd, candidate for Congress, and I approved this message.
V/O: Paid for by Curd for Congress.
Last week, I wrote a story about comments that Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin made in response to a question about her relationship with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Specifically, I was intrigued by one extended comment, which I quoted in the story:
“I would describe our relationship as, uh … uh …” Herseth Sandlin said, before emitting what sounded like a half-laugh, half-sigh and finally breaking an 11-second interlude with this: “… one in which she has, uh, I think she would respect, uh, my decision-making process and, uh, one in which she probably acknowledges that I have some disappointment on how this process has unfolded.”
The comment was made during a regularly scheduled conference call with reporters. As far as I’ve seen, I was the only one of the dozen or more reporters on the call who wrote about the Pelosi comments. That surprised me, given that the comments stood out so glaringly from what otherwise was a pretty routine call.
Rapid City Journal reporter Kevin Woster, who asked the question about Pelosi, has now weighed in on the comment with a post on the Journal’s Mount Blogmore. Here’s an excerpt:
Let me translate: She’s frustrated with Pelosi and a health reform process in the House that locked out those who tried to modify – or moderate – it and those who represented concerns in their home states, such as South Dakota.
Click here to see the rest of Woster’s post.
Additionally, the Blake Curd campaign has made a new video using the audio from Herseth Sandlin’s Pelosi comments. You can view that video below.
New polling data was released today by Rasmussen Reports. Here it is in a nutshell, with hypothetical races of Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., against each of the GOP candidates:
Here’s part of what Rasmussen said about the poll results:
South Dakota Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin’s reelection effort appears to be suffering from the same political backlash as those of many incumbents around the nation.
Below, you can vote in an unscientific poll of Republic Insider readers.
