Herseth's out-of-state volunteers

The Capitol Hill publication The Hill has a story headlined "Imported volunteers helped Dems in S.D.; Mobilization for Herseth outdid national GOP." Excerpt:

Despite a wave of press reports about grassroots campaigning by national Republicans, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) recruited more out-of-state volunteers in South Dakota’s recent special election and expects a big voter outreach effort in November.

Overall, the DCCC flew 400 volunteers — most of whom were Hill staffers — to South Dakota on three chartered planes and bused in an additional 450 from 13 surrounding states, including Oklahoma, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Elsewhere in The Hill is a story headlined "Rep. Herseth moves fast — a bit too fast." Excerpt:

“Stephanie Herseth announced that the House Appropriations Committee has approved a significant increase in funding,” Herseth’s June 9 release stated.

The only catch is that Herseth, who won her seat in a special election June 1, had nothing to do with the funding measure, part of the Interior Department’s appropriations bill for 2005. While House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young (R-Fla.) and other members were hammering out the bill in Washington, Herseth was stumping for votes in South Dakota.