South Dakota Special Election

[jravnsbo]

I went to the GOP convention tonight.  Very interesting and exciting.  Rep Tom Osbourne of NE was there to be the key note speaker.

My candidate LArry Russell seems to be ahead on paper of delegates and hopefully he will get the nod.  I will be off working for him tomorrow!

I'll keep you informed.

[opebo]

I went to the GOP convention tonight.  Very interesting and exciting.  Rep Tom Osbourne of NE was there to be the key note speaker.

My candidate LArry Russell seems to be ahead on paper of delegates and hopefully he will get the nod.  I will be off working for him tomorrow!

I'll keep you informed.

Hey jravnsbo, you seem pretty involved in Republican politics.  I'm overseas, but will be heading back to the USA in March.  Will be job hunting, but would be interested in either working or volunteering for a Republican campaign.  Any advice?  Are there any paid positions or mostly just volunteer?  

[jravnsbo]

Opebo--

well depends .. I knew people int eh russell campaign and so I could have had a paid position if I wanted it but my other career is flourishing more now, so just decided to volunteer for convention.

Generally you need to go and get involved in some events and volunteer and just get out there and meet some people, local and also statewide f you can go to a convention.  After you make yourself know a bit you can then get hired on with a little experience ina state house race or then a congressional one.  I am also sure that MO will have a big staff for Bush and so maybe you can get in their.  So start by going to events, send letters and resumes to state and federal officials and start by volunteering and then work up to paid.

Just don't have a lot of contacts in MO after Ashcroft left.  Did have a guy on his Senate staff as a friend.

[jravnsbo]

The convention was exciting!

As expecteded it was a battle of Larry's.  Larry Russell vs Larry Dietrich.

Russell led ont he first ballot by about 5%, then 1 dropped out.

Second and thrird ballots went slightly to Dietrich.  That narrowed the field down to just the two of them.

After some talks and a 4th Ballot, Dietrich won it.  Congratulations to him and a good battle.

The GOP then unified around him and I know we will win it in June and November.  Just have to get the GOP vote out!  Very exciting and feels great to get involved again.

[NHPolitico]

Republicans nominated state Sen. Larry Diedrich of Elkton today to run in the June 1 special election for South Dakota's seat in the House of Representatives.


Diedrich won the nomination on fourth ballot after two of the three Minnehaha County delegates pledged to him their support. That decision gave him enough votes to win and prompted the withdrawal of Larry Russell of Sioux Falls, a former aid to U.S. Rep. John Thune, who was the last of the seven challengers to step aside.


Diedrich will face Democrat Stephanie Herseth of Brookings in the June special election. The seat was vacated by the resignation of Rep. Bill Janklow, who was convicted last month of second-degree manslaughter in connection with an August traffic accident.


The Republican State Central Committee gathered in Sioux Falls beginning Friday for the two-day nominating process.


Eight candidates originally declared themselves candidates for the seat. But after three ballots only three remained.


Then former state Sen. Barb Everist of Sioux Falls withdrew, freeing the three Minnehaha County delegates who supported her to pick between Russell and Diedrich. Because the process is based on votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election, those three delegates controlled about 18 percent of the vote.


Two of the Minnehaha County representatives backed Diedrich, which put him over the top.


The race between Diedrich and Herseth will determine who serves the remaining seven months of Janklow's term. The general election in November will decide who gets a full two-year term beginning in January.


Diedrich will also be on the ballot in June for the Republican nomination in the general election. It's possible that he will face a primary challenge in that race, meaning he would have to run two campaigns simultaneously. One against Herseth and another against a Republican challenger.


All eight candidates for the Republican nomination pledged before this weekend's gathering not to challenge the winner. But any potential hopefuls have until April to file for the primary.


No other Democrats have expressed interest in the position. Herseth has been a favorite of Democrats since her better-than-expected showing against Janklow in the 2002 election.


Since that defeat she has been working for the South Dakota Farmers Union and teaching part time at South Dakota State University.


Herseth has political roots in the state. Her father, Lars, was a long-time state legislator and Democratic candidate for governor. Her grandfather, Ralph, was governor of the state and her grandmother, Lorna, was secretary of state. She grew up on the family farm near Houghton and graduated from Georgetown Law School.


Diedrich was a candidate for the House job after Thune decided to run for Senate in 2002. But he withdrew when Janklow got in the race.


He is serving his second term in the state Senate and was a member of the state House of Representatives from 1997 to 2000.


Diedrich is a farmer who represents District 4, which includes Deuel, Grant and parts of Brookings and Moody counties.

[Gustaf]

Opebo--

well depends .. I knew people int eh russell campaign and so I could have had a paid position if I wanted it but my other career is flourishing more now, so just decided to volunteer for convention.

Generally you need to go and get involved in some events and volunteer and just get out there and meet some people, local and also statewide f you can go to a convention.  After you make yourself know a bit you can then get hired on with a little experience ina state house race or then a congressional one.  I am also sure that MO will have a big staff for Bush and so maybe you can get in their.  So start by going to events, send letters and resumes to state and federal officials and start by volunteering and then work up to paid.

Just don't have a lot of contacts in MO after Ashcroft left.  Did have a guy on his Senate staff as a friend.

Is it normal to have lots of paid campaign workers in the US? I have only done unpaid volunteer work in the campaign I have participated in, but we were out-spent 10-1, so there was good reason...I felt that unpaid workers were often more dedicated than those who had been hired.

[jravnsbo]

yes lots of campaigns have hired staff, but also lots of volunteers.  Volunteers have a problem travelling though adn just picking up expenses when they move from home base.

Opebo--

well depends .. I knew people int eh russell campaign and so I could have had a paid position if I wanted it but my other career is flourishing more now, so just decided to volunteer for convention.

Generally you need to go and get involved in some events and volunteer and just get out there and meet some people, local and also statewide f you can go to a convention.  After you make yourself know a bit you can then get hired on with a little experience ina state house race or then a congressional one.  I am also sure that MO will have a big staff for Bush and so maybe you can get in their.  So start by going to events, send letters and resumes to state and federal officials and start by volunteering and then work up to paid.

Just don't have a lot of contacts in MO after Ashcroft left.  Did have a guy on his Senate staff as a friend.

Is it normal to have lots of paid campaign workers in the US? I have only done unpaid volunteer work in the campaign I have participated in, but we were out-spent 10-1, so there was good reason...I felt that unpaid workers were often more dedicated than those who had been hired.

[opebo]

I would think Bush's campaign could afford to hire quite a bit of help.  I would be looking not for a lot of money, just enough so that I could postpone looking for a 'real job' for a few months.  

[jravnsbo]

good blog about SD Politics--

http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/

check it out.

[zorkpolitics]

Follow the candidates:
Deitrich (R)
http://www.diedrichforcongress.com/default.asp
Herseth (D)
http://www.hersethforcongress.org/

[Sibboleth]

New poll out:

Herseth: 58%
Diedrich: 29%
Mason Dixon

[Gustaf]

Well, I thought people could work at home, so to speak, but I understand expenses could be a problem.

yes lots of campaigns have hired staff, but also lots of volunteers.  Volunteers have a problem travelling though adn just picking up expenses when they move from home base.

Opebo--

well depends .. I knew people int eh russell campaign and so I could have had a paid position if I wanted it but my other career is flourishing more now, so just decided to volunteer for convention.

Generally you need to go and get involved in some events and volunteer and just get out there and meet some people, local and also statewide f you can go to a convention.  After you make yourself know a bit you can then get hired on with a little experience ina state house race or then a congressional one.  I am also sure that MO will have a big staff for Bush and so maybe you can get in their.  So start by going to events, send letters and resumes to state and federal officials and start by volunteering and then work up to paid.

Just don't have a lot of contacts in MO after Ashcroft left.  Did have a guy on his Senate staff as a friend.

Is it normal to have lots of paid campaign workers in the US? I have only done unpaid volunteer work in the campaign I have participated in, but we were out-spent 10-1, so there was good reason...I felt that unpaid workers were often more dedicated than those who had been hired.

[Sibboleth]

I would guess that the race will get closer, but Herseth seems to be far ahead at the moment.

[jravnsbo]

might as well have been a name recognition poll.  Dietrich just became the candidate a couple weeks ago.  He has been busy resigning his state senate seat and getting a campaign together.

Long time t go before june.  Only beginning.

[Vasall des Midas]

might as well have been a name recognition poll.  Dietrich just became the candidate a couple weeks ago.  He has been busy resigning his state senate seat and getting a campaign together.

Long time t go before june.  Only beginning.

I just read the article that went with that poll.
Apart from saying that she was well ahead in every region of the state save one (where she leads narrowly) and among both men and women, whites and Dakotas, Dems and Independents etc (and at 37% among Reps) it had name recognition figures as well.
And they prove your point.
Herseth 57% favorable opinion, 18% negative opinion, 25% neutral or don't know her name
Diedrich 26% favorable 14% unfavorable 60% neutral or don't know him.

[So the Heroes Fall]

I think Herseth will win this one. She did very well against Janklow who at the time was extremely popular, plus Dems will have a high turnout since they'll be mad that Janklow got off with a slap on the wrist. Plus she's really attractive and should get a large portion of the young male vote. :p

[jravnsbo]

Herseth is taking 3 million from Emily's list.  HELLO!!

SD House has passed and SD Senate is sexpected to pass a law to OUTLAW abortion and set up a SCT battle to overturn abortion.  The law is very popular and will hiurt Herseth.

Plus unli,ke KY, SD will have its primary on the same day.  So as Long as GOP can turn out its base it should win.  Are Republicans going to vote for Dietrich ont he primary but not the special election, doubtful.

I think Herseth will win this one. She did very well against Janklow who at the time was extremely popular, plus Dems will have a high turnout since they'll be mad that Janklow got off with a slap on the wrist. Plus she's really attractive and should get a large portion of the young male vote. :p

[Vasall des Midas]

Herseth is taking 3 million from Emily's list.  HELLO!!

SD House has passed and SD Senate is sexpected to pass a law to OUTLAW abortion and set up a SCT battle to overturn abortion.  The law is very popular and will hiurt Herseth.

Plus unli,ke KY, SD will have its primary on the same day.  So as Long as GOP can turn out its base it should win.  Are Republicans going to vote for Dietrich ont he primary but not the special election, doubtful.

I think Herseth will win this one. She did very well against Janklow who at the time was extremely popular, plus Dems will have a high turnout since they'll be mad that Janklow got off with a slap on the wrist. Plus she's really attractive and should get a large portion of the young male vote. :p

That primary should help...
Normally, with this little name recognition against someone apparently this popular Dietrich should be toast. It's really ONLY because there's so many more Republicans in the state than Democrats and because of that primary on the same day that he still has a realistic fighting chance. It'll be an uphill battle for him though.