United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota, 2010
Encyclopedia
The 2010 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district
South Dakota's At-large congressional district
The South Dakota at-large congressional district covers the entire state of South Dakota. It was created in 1982, after South Dakota lost its 2nd District. From 1889 to 1913, it existed with two representatives elected statewide at-large....
, who run on a statewide ballot. On June 8, 2010, the Republicans nominated Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem
Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem is the U.S. Representative for , serving since January 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party and has been elected to the Republican Leadership for the 112th Congress as one of its two freshman representatives...
, Assistant Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives
South Dakota House of Representatives
The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 70 members, two from each legislative district...
and the Democrats nominated the incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. In the general election, Noem defeated Herseth Sandlin, winning 48.1 percent of the vote to 45.9 percent for Herseth Sandlin.
Potential
- Steve HildebrandSteve HildebrandSteve Hildebrand is a Democratic political strategist based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was the deputy national campaign director of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.-Biography:Hildebrand grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota....
, deputy national campaign director of Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's 2008 presidential campaignBarack Obama presidential campaign, 2008Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
Nominee
- Kristi NoemKristi NoemKristi Lynn Arnold Noem is the U.S. Representative for , serving since January 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party and has been elected to the Republican Leadership for the 112th Congress as one of its two freshman representatives...
, Assistant Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of RepresentativesSouth Dakota House of RepresentativesThe South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 70 members, two from each legislative district...
Announced
- Blake Curd, member of the South Dakota House of RepresentativesSouth Dakota House of RepresentativesThe South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 70 members, two from each legislative district...
- Chris NelsonChris NelsonChris Nelson is the former Secretary of State of South Dakota. A Republican, he was a candidate to become U.S. Representative from South Dakota's At-large congressional district in 2010. Nelson lost to Kristi Noem in the Republican primary....
, Secretary of State of South DakotaSecretary of State of South DakotaThe Secretary of State of South Dakota is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of South Dakota.The current Secretary of State is Jason Gant.The Secretary of State's Office is composed of three divisions:... - Kristi NoemKristi NoemKristi Lynn Arnold Noem is the U.S. Representative for , serving since January 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party and has been elected to the Republican Leadership for the 112th Congress as one of its two freshman representatives...
, member of the South Dakota House of RepresentativesSouth Dakota House of RepresentativesThe South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 70 members, two from each legislative district...
Issues
During the general election campaign, Republicans criticized Herseth Sandlin's voting record. They also criticized her lobbyist husband's list of clients, noting that the companies had interests in legislation that would come before Congress. Noem pointed out that the National Association of BroadcastersNational Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
paid Herseth Sandlin's husband, Max Sandlin
Max Sandlin
Max Sandlin , is a lawyer, lobbyist, American politician, and former Democratic Congressman who served eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Texas District 1....
, a lobbyist and former Congressman, $320,000 during the years 2008 and 2009 to lobby on their behalf, including a bill co-sponsored by Herseth Sandlin called the Local Radio Freedom Act. Herseth Sandlin responded that Noem's example was "laughable". The Rapid City Journal
Rapid City Journal
The Rapid City Journal is the daily newspaper of Rapid City, South Dakota.See also List of newspapers in South Dakota-External links:*...
editorial board stated that Herseth Sandlin should not be laughing at a legitimate concern. Roll Call
Roll Call
Roll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
called the Republican effort an attempt "to stoke anti-Beltway emotions". Herseth Sandlin's campaign responded that she did not allow family members to lobby her or her staff. According to a Washington attorney, Herseth Sandlin's policy seemed compliant with House ethics rules that had been tightened in 2007, though Republicans charged Herseth Sandlin was violating the spirit of the conflict interest rules. "The Sunlight Foundation
Sunlight Foundation
The Sunlight Foundation is a 501 educational organization founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States government....
, Public Citizen
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
and other watchdog groups are highly critical of Herseth Sandlin and other Members whose relatives work Congressional corridors", according to Roll Call. The groups have said the House ethics rules should be comparable to the Senate's rules and should ban all lobbying "under the Dome" by relatives of Members.
Polling
| Poll Source | Dates Administered | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) | Kristi Noem (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-02-23 | 49% | 34% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-03-25 | 46% | 35% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-04-26 | 50% | 35% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-05-27 | 46% | 43% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-06-14 | 41% | 53% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-07-06 | 44% | 49% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-08-03 | 42% | 51% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-09-08 | 47% | 45% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-10-04 | 44% | 47% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2010-10-20 | 44% | 49% |
On October 24, 2010, Nate Silver
Nate Silver
Nathaniel Read "Nate" Silver is an American statistician, psephologist, and writer. Silver first gained public recognition for developing PECOTA, a system for forecasting the performance and career development of Major League Baseball players, which he sold to and then managed for Baseball...
of the FiveThirtyEight.com
FiveThirtyEight.com
FiveThirtyEight is a polling aggregation website with a blog created by Nate Silver. Sometimes colloquially referred to as 538 dot com or just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college...
New York Times blog predicted that there was a 77.5% chance that Noem would defeat Sandlin.
Fundraising
The race saw each candidate spend over $1.75 million and was the first in Herseth Sandlin's career where she was outspent.Funding from political parties and interest groups totaled $2,651,621 for the race, with 78% benefiting Noem. Groups supporting Herseth-Sandlin included the DCCC
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
and CUNA
Credit Union National Association
The Credit Union National Association, commonly known as CUNA , is a national trade association for both state- and federally-chartered credit unions located in the United States. CUNA provides member credit unions with trade association services, such as lobbying, professional development, and...
. Noem was supported by the American Action Network
American Action Network
American Action Network is a 501 issue advocacy organization that focuses on promoting what it styles as “center-right policies.” It was established in February 2010 by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former adviser to the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain, and former Republican Senator from...
, the NRCC
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
and the American Future Fund.
External links
- Elections from the South Dakota Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress Candidates for South Dakota at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- 2010 South Dakota General Election: Kristi Noem (R) vs Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- House - South Dakota from the Cook Political ReportCook Political ReportThe Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, Governor's offices and the American Presidency. The Cook Political Report is led by a staff of five...
- South Dakota - At-Large from OurCampaigns.com
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- 2010 South Dakota - 1st District from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Race profile at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Debates
- Sparks fly in first U.S. House debate (video), Jonathan Ellis, Argus LeaderArgus LeaderSee also List of newspapers in South DakotaThe Argus Leader is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is South Dakota's largest newspaper by circulation.-Description:...
, August 12, 2010, includes full video (1:29:40) at the Sioux Empire Fair (1st debate) - Kristi Noem says no to school vouchers, Jonathan Ellis, Argus LeaderArgus LeaderSee also List of newspapers in South DakotaThe Argus Leader is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is South Dakota's largest newspaper by circulation.-Description:...
, August 14, 2010, at the Sioux Empire Fair (2nd debate) - Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Kristi Noem debate health care legislation, Megan Luther, Argus LeaderArgus LeaderSee also List of newspapers in South DakotaThe Argus Leader is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is South Dakota's largest newspaper by circulation.-Description:...
, August 18, 2010, includes full video (1:15:31) at Dakotafest (3rd debate)