Herseth Sandlin Won’t Challenge Noem

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced today that she will not try to regain her house seat this year. This doesn't strike me as surprising. From the Rapid City Journal:

The former congresswoman said she wants to spend more time with her family, including her child Zachary, 3. Herseth Sandlin also said she wants to focus on her professional career as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., where she said she is enjoying "working on some of the same issues that motivated me to seek office in the first place."

I am guessing that her current job is rather more lucrative than a Congressional seat. It is also very likely a lot more flexible. I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughter when she was three, but not so much time with my son at the same age. I know with bitter certainty that you never get one minute of time back.

Trying to unseat Kristi Noem must also have looked like a long shot. I see no general trends or specific vulnerabilities that make Noem look beatable. Still, if anyone could have given Noem a run for her money, it would have been SHS.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Congresswoman Herseth-Sandlin along with my colleague Jon Schaff on our NSU TV show, Spotlight@Northern. She is very bright and she is a talented politician. South Dakota needs a viable Democratic Party. SHS has been one of the Democrats' most bankable assets. They should hope that they can reinvest that asset in the future.

If trends turn against the Republicans, Herseth Sandlin could well make a return. If Tim Johnson retires at the end of his term, she might be enlisted to run for the Senate seat. If Noem should vacate her House seat to run for Senate or for some other reason, SHS might throw her hat in the ring for the House or Senate seats.

As it is, I rather doubt that the House race in South Dakota this year will be much of a contest and that is unfortunate. A real contest is good for the state and for the nation. It would also dramatically increase my chances of getting interviewed by CNN or, dare I imagine it, Fox News.

I like Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and I wish her well. I can hardly blame her for sitting this one out. If I were a Democrat, I would very much hope that she is planning a return to politics in the future.

Comments

[Tom Lawrence]

SHS does not hyphenate her two last names.
Otherwise, I agree with your assessment. At 41, it seems premature to write her political obit.

[Ivan]

I disagree about her political obit. There was talk of her being a carpetbagger before. With at least two more years away from South Dakota you think that will diminish? People have and will move on.