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Hard-wired for governor's race?
Herseth Sandlin says decision must wait for election, baby
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FarkRep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said Thursday that she would not rule out running for governor in 2010 but is focusing for now on her re-election campaign and preparing for the birth of her first child in December.
Herseth Sandlin, whose grandfather, Ralph, was one of the rare Democrats to win the South Dakota governor's chair, said during a weekly telephone conference call that she would wait until after the November election and the birth of her baby in late December to plan the next step in her political career.
Asked specifically if she was ruling out a run for governor in 2010, the South Dakota Democrat said: "No, I wouldn't rule it out. I would never rule it out. I think from the feedback I get from constituents that they are pleased with the work I've been doing in Congress, and I certainly appreciate the encouragement I've received from some quarters on serving the state in another capacity."
That "other capacity" also could include the U.S. Senate. First-term Republican Sen. John Thune, a formidable incumbent, will come up for reelection in 2010. But Herseth Sandlin is rarely spoken of as a likely Thune challenger in that election cycle.
"I've never had a discussion about that with any of her people," state Democratic Party Executive Director Rick Hauffe of Sioux Falls said. "If you listen to the ideal speculation among people who like to speculate about these things, nobody's talking up a scenario with Herseth Sandlin taking on Thune."
But there's plenty of speculation about Herseth Sandlin as a governor's candidate. And with good reason, Hauffe said.
"She'd be awesome," he said. "But only she knows about that. And at this point, I don't think she really knows."
Faced with the immediate re-election campaign against Republican challenger Chris Lien of Rapid City, Herseth Sandlin said a decision on the governor's race must wait.
"It'll be a difficult decision, but one that I'm not prepared to give as much thought to as perhaps some other people are until the end of the year," she said.
The latest surge in speculation about Herseth Sandlin came after she and her husband, former Texas Congressman Max Sandlin, announced earlier this week that they were expecting a child in late December.
Northern State University political science professor Jon Schaff said he has been skeptical about Herseth Sandlin as a potential gubernatorial candidate, believing her ultimate goal is the U.S. Senate. But Schaff said he was intrigued by her response Thursday to the question about the 2010 governor's race.
"Why doesn't she just dismiss such talk with the usual 'I am happy where I am,'" Schaff asked. "She certainly wants people to think she is considering a run, whether she actually is or not."
Being pregnant should be a campaign advantage this year, Schaff said.
"I suspect that this pregnancy will breed even more sympathy for Herseth Sandlin, making her even tougher for Lien to attack, and allow her to run a conflict-free campaign, which suits her fine," he said.
Lien campaign spokesman Hugh Weber said Herseth Sandlin's pregnancy won't affect Lien's approach to the campaign.
"We plan on running our campaign the same today as it was yesterday: a campaign searching for solutions to the issues that are important to our state," Weber said.
Term limits prevent Republican Gov. Mike Rounds from a re-election bid. Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard is considered a likely candidate for governor. Senate Republican Leader Dave Knudson of Sioux Falls is among a group of Republican possibilities. Potential Democratic candidates include Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem of Sioux Falls and Sen. Nancy Turbak Berry of Watertown.
Herseth Sandlin, 37, lost the U.S. House race in 2002 to former Gov. Bill Janklow. She won a special election in June of 2004 to fill the remainder of Janklow's term, after his vehicular manslaughter conviction. She then won a full two-year term in November 2004 and again in November 2006.
Hauffe said Herseth Sandlin is "a star on the rise" in Congress with clear senatorial potential. But the governor's race must have appeal, given her family history, he said.
Along with her grandfather's single two-year term as governor, Herseth Sandlin's grandmother, Lorna, served as South Dakota Secretary of State, and her father, Lars, was a state legislator who lost the 1986 governor's race to Republican George Mickelson.
"Face it, it's in her DNA," Hauffe said. "If anybody was hard-wired to run for the top statehouse seat, it would be her, looking at it genetically."
Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com
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