South Dakota Swinging Red

Good news from the latest Zogby poll in South Dakota: John Thune has a three-point lead over Tom Daschle. This would seem to confirm a trend in the recent polling, which has been moving consistently in Thune’s direction.
I suspect that the more South Dakotans read about polls showing Thune in the lead, the more people will vote for him. Thune is a much more attractive candidate than Daschle, and there is no question that his views are more consistent with those of most South Dakotans. The one and only argument that has ever been made for voting for Daschle is that he brings home pork. A lot of South Dakotans aren’t proud of that rationale, and I think there is a growing sense that Daschle has served his purpose and his day is past. If South Dakotans vote their convictions, Thune will win easily.
It’s also great to see that in South Dakota’s only House race, Zogby has Larry Diedrich three points ahead of Stephanie Herseth, the incumbent who defeated Diedrich in a special election after Bill Janklow’s manslaughter conviction. Diedrich closed well in that race, and it looks like he may have a good shot next week.