One down, more to go...

For those who haven't heard: Stephanie Herseth was elected to Congress in South Dakota. Herseth, a Democrat, defeated Republican Larry Dietrich by 3,000 votes in this statewide race. (South Dakota has only one seat in the House.) I'm impressed by her performance, considering that: 1) South Dakota went for Bush 60%-38% in 2000, 2)the Republican Party and Dietrich spent $2 million to win about 125,000 votes, or roughly $16 per vote, and 3) Herseth is just 33 years old.

Herseth's victory in South Dakota follows Democrat Ben Chandler's February election to Congress in Kentucky. Since both were special elections, they'll have to run again in November, albeit with the power of incumbency. South Dakota? Kentucky? It seems Democrats are showing some clout in these alleged "red states". Both Herseth and Chandler are familiar family names in their home states (like the Browns in California or Udalls in the Southwest), so their triumphs might be anomalous. On the other hand, it does show much politics is local. Gain trust and affection locally, and you can counter national party affiliation. At the same time, some folks will turn out largely due to disgust at Bush's policies. Call it a form of negative coattails.

Josh Marshall notes the Republican Party is full of excuses for their losses, suggesting that minority voters who provide the margin of victory aren't quite real Americans. Consider this statement by Congressman Davis, following the Republican defeat in South Dakota:

“If you take out the Indian reservation, we would have won,” said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), former chairman of the NRCC.

I'm not sure what his point is, or even what he thinks it is. Yeah, if you take out Arkansas, Gore would have won. But my example makes little sense, because Arkansas counts as much as any other state's six electoral votes. Are Republicans implying that folks on the rez shouldn't count as much as white voters? Maybe three-fifths, perhaps?

Herseth won the special election to the seat vacated by Bill Janklow, who resigned following his conviction for second-degree manslaughter. Janklow served 100 days in jail and was released in May.