Earl Pomeroy is North Dakota's sole representative, and a Democrat.
It's always amazing that such solid Red states at the presidential level as the Dakotas send so many Democrats to Washington. But pity the good Democratic Party if we didn't have their four senators. And if things go according to plan, Herseth will join Pomeroy in the House for an all-Democratic DC Dakota delegation.
But how safe is Pomeroy? Given ND has a single House seat, he is essentially a state-wide figure. North Dakota is 92 percent white, 5 percent Native American, with a smattering of the rest. I've read (and locals can confirm) that ND doesn't have voter registration -- that everyone knows everyone and anyone not eligible to vote is immediately identified. ND has the slowest growth rate in the union, and in 2000 showed the slowest growth rate of any state since 1950. It is the state least visited by othe Americans. The number of 20-34 year olds declined 16 percent between 1990 and 2000. Despite the state's social conservatism, it is one of only three with all-Democratic delegations (the others being MA and HI).
And that pisses off the Republicans to no end. (Think Hawaii with an all-Republican delegation, and you'd get the idea.) So why the strong local Democratic Party? One word: agriculture. No sector of the economy depends more on the government than agriculture (witness the annual pork-ladden farm bill). Left on their own, market forces would decimate many farmers. Better let a strong government prop up prices.
Couple that with the state's strong immigration tradition (Germans, Swedes, Canadians and Irish), and you have a state with a strong populist streak. Socially conservative to its core, but still appreciative of a strong and vital governmental role.
Bush won the state 61-33, making SD-AL one of the most conservative House districts held by a Democrat. Republicans targeted Pomeroy in 2002, and guns blazing, made a race of it. Despite spending millions to oust Pomeroy, he squeezed out a narrow 52-48 win. Or 11,000 votes out of 230,000 cast. In fact, Pomeroy -- who has held the seat since 1992 -- has never won by more than 57 percent (in his rookie race).
Incidentally, races like this serve double-duty. Not only is it nice to have a vote for Pelosi coming from a 28-point Bush state, but it also gives us a ready-made viable candidate in case one of ND's senators retires.