Frist coming to South Dakota

Roll Call reports today that the Senate majority leader will be in South Dakota next month to campaign for John Thune. The piece, headlined "Frist Going to Daschle’s Turf," has this observation:

Senate Historian Richard Baker could not recall a time in the modern era of campaigns when one floor leader campaigned against the other in his home state, mostly because Daschle is the first floor leader since the 1960s to face a tough re-election fight.

In 1962 and 1968, then-Republican leader Everett Dirksen (Ill.) faced tough campaigns, winning with 53 percent of the vote each time. Dirksen enjoyed a very cordial relationship with the Democratic leader at the time, Mike Mansfield (Mont.).

The last Senate floor leader to lose his re-election was Ernest McFarland (D-Ariz.), who was defeated in 1952 by Barry Goldwater (R).

I think it would be illuminating to examine the 1952 McFarland-Goldwater race for any parallels to this year's Daschle-Thune race. Perhaps this is a project better suited for DVT (which is operated by an historian at SDSU), but I'll certainly try to add my thoughts in the next few days.