Elections: 2006 Candidate Profiles

South Dakota - House (at large)

District Geography | Summary | History | Outlook | Polls

Stephanie Herseth (Democrat, 2-term incumbent)

Website: www.hersethforcongress.org

Bruce W. Whalen (Republican)

Website: www.brucewhalen.org

Larry Rudebusch (Libertarian)

Website: www.larryrudebusch.com

District Geography:

This is an at-large seat, encompassing the entire state of South Dakota.

Summary:

Stephanie Herseth is one of three Blue Dog Democrats in the Upper Midwest and is a member of the Agriculture Committee, the Resources Committee and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Her top priorities are ensuring quality and affordable health care, fighting for family farms and ranches, adequately funding public education, increase benefits to veterans, and improving the lives of Native Americans.

Bruce Whalen, a Republican activist, is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, for limited government, supportive of more affordable health care and prescription drugs, supportive of President Bush on the war on terror, and for making Bush's tax cuts permanent.

Larry Rudebusch, a farmer from Bruce, is committed to reducing public debt, lowering taxes, reducing financial dependence on the government, and curbing corporate influence on the government.

History:

Democrat Stephanie Herseth won South Dakota's at-large seat to the U.S. House of Representatives in a June 2004 special election. The special election was called to fill the seat vacated by Representative William Janklow who resigned on January 20th of that year after being convicted of manslaughter for killing a motorcyclist with his automobile. Herseth edged Republican nominee Larry Diedrich in that election by just two points (approximately 3000 votes). The two candidates squared off again in November 2004, with Herseth winning by 7.5 points.

Democrats won the first seven at-large races when the number of South Dakota's representatives dropped from two to one in 1982. However, since 1960, Republicans have won 21 of 35 U.S. House elections in the state.

Outlook:

Herseth's family has a long political history in the state - her grandfather was governor of South Dakota, her grandmother was Secretary of State, and her father served in the state legislature for twenty years and was the Democratic Party's nominee for governor in 1986. Herseth's strong name recognition, her incumbency advantage, and her strong popularity (63% in a July 2006 KELO-TV poll) should insure this Blue Dog Democrat remains in the US House.

Polls:

1 "If the 2006 election for US House were held today, would you vote for Stephanie Herseth, the Democrat, or Bruce Whalen, the Republican?"