« Biden Time | Main | Electoral College Dropout »

Friday, October 12, 2012

South Dakota Politics

I received a nice South Dakota poll summary from Nelson Brothers Polling. It includes no surprises. I thought I should post the results. On the Presidential race:

In the NBP survey, running from October 1 to October 5, 2012, Republican candidate Mitt Romney leads by 10.5 percent (51.6 to 41.1 percent) over President Barack Obama, with 7.2 percent "undecided." Romney led Obama by 53.9 to 38.7 percent in the NBP 2012 Labor Day Survey.

NBP also asked participants to evaluate President Obama's job performance. Overall, 43.2 percent of respondents approve of his performance. Among those who approve, 26.4 percent say they "strongly approve," and 16.8 percent "somewhat approve." Of the 56.8 percent who disapprove, 46.8 percent "strongly disapprove." The president's approval ratings have remained fairly steady in NBP polls in the last few months, with 45.0 percent in the July NBP survey and 42.9 in the September NBP survey.

Look out! Obama's catching up. I cautiously predict that Romney will carry South Dakota's three electoral votes. The other news of national significance:

In the South Dakota US House race, Republican Representative Kristi Noem leads Democratic challenger Matt Varilek by 5.7 percent (49.3 to 43.6 percent) with 7.1 percent "undecided." This lead is down from her 50.8 to 42.0 percent lead in the NBP Labor Day Survey.

The NBP survey shows Representative Kristi Noem's job approval at 53.4 percent, compared with 54.7 percent approval in September. Of those who approve, 24.4 percent "strongly approve," and 29.0 percent "somewhat approve." 46.6 percent disapprove of Noem's job performance, with 28.9 percent saying they "strongly disapprove," and 17.7 percent saying they "somewhat disapprove."

Take heart, Cory. However, this suggests that Noem will very probably be reelected. Here are some further stats:

Incumbent Republican Chris Nelson again holds a strong advantage over Democrat Nick Nemic by 26.4 percent (55.1 percent to 28.7 percent), with 16.2 percent "undecided," in one of South Dakota's two races for Public Utilities Commissioner (PUC).

In the second PUC contest, Libertarian candidate Russell Clarke appears to pull support from Republican Kristie Fiegen, narrowing her advantage over Democratic challenger Matt McGovern. Fiegen now leads by 2.1 percent, with 38.6 percent of support, over McGovern's 36.5 percent, and Clarke's 8.5 percent. 16.4 percent of respondents say they are "undecided." Last month, without Clarke's name in the survey, Fiegen enjoyed a 10.5 percent advantage (47.0 to 36.5 percent).

NBP continues to ask whether voters support the Republican or the Democratic state senate candidate in their legislative district. The generic Republican senate candidates hold a 43.7 to 37.0 percent lead in NBP's October survey, with 19.3 percent "undecided." Measured by region, Republican candidates lead by 10.9 percent (47.1 to 36.2 percent) among West River voters, by 10.2 percent (44.6 to 34.4 percent) in the Sioux Falls Metro area (Minnehaha and Lincoln counties), and by 1.1 percent (40.9 to 39.8 percent) East River outside of Metro Sioux Falls.

It would probably be better for South Dakota if the Democrats were in better shape. They are in the same old shape.

Meanwhile, I recommend that you watch about an hour of riveting TV. Spotlight@Northern hosted the candidates for State Senate from District Three: H. Paul Dennert and Al Novstrup. You can watch the show at this link: http://www.northern.edu/about/Pages/nsutv.aspx.

This show, if I do say so myself, is an excellent presentation of two local legislators. I was very impressed by both our guests. They are intelligent, articulate, and serious men. South Dakota is a republic. We ought to remind ourselves from time to time of how magnificent an achievement that is. Give it an hour.

Posted by on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:32 AM |

| |

The comments to this entry are closed.