Candidate Center

Our new candidate center is designed to help keep you up-to-date with the campaigns going on across the country. Click on your state of interest and you’ll find a list of candidates running for each federal office, a brief overview of the state, and specific information for campaigns of interest as it becomes available. In the near future, the candidate center will include polls that will be updated as new ones are released, and links to FEC data.

NCEC Candidate Center - South Dakota

South Dakota

Presidential primary: Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Congressional filing deadline: March 25, 2008
Congressional primary: Tuesday, June 3, 2008

President (3 Electoral Votes)

South Dakota has not voted for a Democrat in the presidential election since 1964, and it has not been close since 1996. In 2004, John Kerry lost South Dakota by 21 percent.

U.S. Senate - Tim Johnson (Dem)

Senator Tim Johnson returned to work on September 5, receiving great fanfare from both parites. In an earlier public appearance on August 28, he said in an interview that he expects to run for reelection in 2008. This seat was seen as a potential GOP target even before Johnson fell ill. In 2002, Johnson defeated Republican John Thune by less than 600 votes. Leutinent Governor Steve Kirby unexpectedly announced that he would not seek the Republican nomination after weeks of speculation that he would. That leaves Joel Dykstra, the assistant majority leader in the state House, Spearfish businessman Sam Kephart and former Ambassador Bert Tollefson in the race.

Early polls suggest that Johnson has a large lead against any of his potential opponents. A Rasmussen Reports poll from March 7, gave Johnson a 30-point advantage over Dykstra.

Tim Johnson (Dem) - Incumbent
Joel Dykstra (Rep) - State Representative and Business Consultant
Dusty Johnson (Rep) - State Public Uitilities Commissioner and Former Gubernatorial Aide
Sam Kephart (Rep) - Businessman and Realtor
Jim Seward (Rep) - Attorney