Chris Nelson, South Dakota's secretary of state, announced Friday that he will run for Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin for the state's only House seat.
Nelson's entry made him the second Republican in as many days to join the race, as state Rep. Blake Curd declared his candidacy Thursday.
But Nelson, with his track record of winning statewide elections and the name recognition derived from his position, is widely viewed as having a better chance of defeating Herseth Sandlin.
The GOP field is already stronger than the party has attracted in recent South Dakota House contests. Herseth Sandlin first won the at-large seat narrowly in a 2004 special election. But her stronger showing in that year's general election caused GOP candidate recruiting problems in 2006 and 2008, despite the typically strong Republican leanings of the state's voters.
Nelson is in his second term as secretary of state, and was unopposed for re-election in 2006, a first for the office in South Dakota's history. The state's term-limit law bars him from running again for secretary of state in 2010.
Before winning election to the post in 2002, Nelson spent 13 years as the state election supervisor in the secretary of state's office.
Though Sandlin has been re-elected comfortably three times, she could face a more difficult race in 2010 given a political atmosphere that now appears less toxic for the Republican Party. The GOP is grilling her over some her votes during the current Congress, including her support for the expensive economic stimulus legislation and the fiscal 2009 omnibus appropriations package.
Still, she has strong roots in the state -- her grandfather, Ralph E. Herseth, is a former governor of South Dakota -- and will start as the favorite in the race.
Nelson also will have to expend resources in a battle with Curd, and potentially state Rep. Shantel Krebs, who has also expressed interest in the race.
CQ Politics rates the general election contest Democrat Favored.
To see how all of the 2010 House races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
![[RSS]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/rss_icon.gif){kind=icon}
![[ARCHIVES]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/archives_icon.png){kind=icon}
Post A Comment