Word: dakotas
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...staggering blow." GEORGE MCGOVERN, former South Dakota Senator and Democratic presidential candidate, on the defeat of fellow South Dakotan and Senate minority leader Tom Daschle...
Elections are not just about votes. They're also about symbols. And for Senate Republicans, minority leader Tom Daschle has long been Moby Dick. Here was a Democrat from a solidly Republican state, South Dakota, who not only couldn't be defeated but also seemed to emerge from each legislative and electoral battle bigger and more powerful. So when John Thune arrives in Washington next year, he will not be just another freshman Senator. He will be a conquering hero--the man who vanquished the G.O.P.'s 18-year obsession...
Thune, a clean-living former Congressman (friends say he doesn't curse or touch alcohol), ran a profoundly focused race, taking every opportunity to remind voters that Daschle's positions on gay marriage, gun control and abortion set him at odds with "South Dakota values." But he did not bag his big game alone. Majority leader Bill Frist broke with more than a century of Senate etiquette by visiting South Dakota to campaign for Daschle's ouster. (The last time anyone can remember a Senate leader visiting his opposite's state to rail against him was in 1900.) President Bush...
Ultimately, the out-of-synch nature of Daschle's career may have been the most critical factor in Thune's victory. For three terms Daschle managed to pull off the balancing act of being a high-profile, left-leaning Senator in a low-profile, right-leaning state. South Dakota tipped further to the right in 2004, however, and Daschle knew it. His campaign frequently touted a study that showed the Senator agreed with President Bush about 70% of the time and aired a spot showing Daschle and Bush hugging on the floor of the House in the wake...
That, in turn, helped the G.O.P., which owned a 28-22 gubernatorial majority going into the election, maintain its margin. Five states (Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah and Vermont) went Republican, and five went Democratic (Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and West Virginia), with Washington's race too close to call. But in the most closely watched and heavily bankrolled races, the G.O.P. prevailed. In Missouri Matt Blunt, the son of four-term Congressman Roy Blunt, beat state auditor Claire McCaskill; the two candidates spent a combined $7.3 million, also a likely state record. And in Utah a scion...