Denise Ross, political reporter for the Rapid City Journal, has an interesting interview of Dick Wadhams, John Thune's campaign manager. The piece is titled "Thune manager says vision key to winning." Excerpt:
Ross: Will you reveal anything about your strategy for this race?Wadhams: You're already seeing it. [John Thune] wasn't on TV until July. I know a lot of folks, especially our opposition, were perplexed that he didn't get on TV the moment we had enough money to do it. But I strongly felt, after discussions with a lot of folks who were here two years ago, that the people of South Dakota weren't ready for a long, protracted campaign. It would behoove us to stay low-key for as long as possible. That doesn't mean that John wasn't working. John was going to a lot of Lincoln Day dinners, addressing service clubs, visiting the reservations. Then, we had to raise money, because we started off with zero. Coming into this year, Daschle had like $4 million in the bank. Right now, we're re-introducing John to the voters, reminding them about his roots in Murdo, talking about how he would be an independent voice as a U.S. senator from South Dakota. We'll be getting more specific in terms of issues as we get deeper into the campaign. I also think campaigns are about choices, and the voters, when they go in the ballot booth or are sitting at their kitchen table filling out an absentee ballot, there're going to be two names on that ballot. We have to give voters a reason to vote for John Thune.
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