AP

Here's an Associated Press story entitled "GOP Weathers Changing of the Guard."  Excerpt:

Some South Dakota Republicans wondered about the party's fortunes when longtime party leader Bill Janklow resigned from the U.S. House in January, but the GOP had a strong showing in the November election. "When it comes to success stories, this was a very successful year for South Dakota Republicans," state Party Chairman Randy Frederick said. Janklow, a former four-term governor, was involved in a fatal car crash in August 2003, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and resigned from Congress in January. But in this year's elections, the GOP gained a Senate seat when former Rep. John Thune beat Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle, held its two-thirds majorities in both the state House and Senate and gained a seat on the state Public Utilities Commission. Janklow's resignation and Daschle's loss at the polls mean both parties are going through a changing of the guard with the loss of two dominant forces in South Dakota politics for more than a quarter century. Democrats seem to face the toughest challenge as they rebuild a party organization that had been so closely tied to Daschle. Meanwhile, the South Dakota GOP has regained Thune, who served six years in the U.S. House before losing a Senate race against Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson in 2002.