I'm still basking in the glow of the Chandler victory. But it's time to look ahead. We have two special elections coming up before the Big Show in November.
The first is the LA6 race, as GOoPer Rep. Billy Tauzin will soon resign his seat. The date of that special election is entirely dependent on Tauzin's resignation date, and the LA GOP is trying to figure out which would be the most strategically advantageous date. I'm not sure I know what factors are involved, so we'll leave that one alone for now.
The other is the June 1st South Dakota At Large special election, featuring blogosphere favorite Stephanie Herseth. The election is to fill the vacancy created by former Rep. Janklow's murder manslaughter conviction. I actually plan on heading out to SD for a few days to see her campaign up close if they'll have me.
This will be a real battleground. While Stephanie has the early lead, don't expect it to hold. There are far too many subplots for that to happen. The GOP has been stung by the Chandler victory, and expect Rove and the NRCC to put whatever is necessary to keep this seat in their hands.
NRCC spokesperson Bo Harmon: "There are not very many competitive House seats out there for Democrats to win, but I agree that South Dakota is competitive."
However, Harmon said nat'l GOPers "are offering Diedrich the resources needed to make the race winnable." Harmon: "It is at the top of our priority list."
Not only is the GOP House majority too slim to surrender another seat to the Dems, but they want to stop any notion of Democratic "momentum" before it becomes a more established media theme. Losing Red congressional districts won't do Bush any favors.
And a strong Herseth victory would likely give Daschle a boost in his reelection bid. Once upon a time, Daschle would've been Herseth's biggest asset. It now looks like the converse may be true.