In 2005, South Dakota Democrats were wondering if we would even have a challenger to our ultra rightwing Governor Mike Rounds. Then Rounds signed the abortion ban earlier this year, which led to a drop in his approval rating. We had two good candidates in the primary, and progressives are really excited about our Democratic nominee Jack Billion.
I was at a concert in Sioux Falls last night helping to register voters. Billion briefly addressed an enthusiastic crowd of about 300 high school or college aged kids. We got 50 new voters signed up, and had about half of them fill out applications for absentee ballots. Almost all of them will vote for Billion and vote against Referred Law 6, which is the abortion ban.
This is just one example of the importance of contesting every race. In the state that elected Tom Daschle to Congress by a margin of 12 votes, and reelected Senator Tim Johnson by 580 votes in 2002, having a good candidate who brings new voters into the fold is helpful win or lose.
Billion has been getting a lot of good press lately. Given this year's hostile environment for Republicans and the strong support from the Democratic base, he could emerge with a surprise victory this November.
Billion's web address is http://www.billionforgovernor.com