South Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat is up for grabs in November. Democrat Matt Varilek is challenging incumbent Republican Congresswoman Kristi Noem in the election. SDPB’s Charles Michael Ray takes a look at the race in today’s Dakota Digest.
South Dakota is a red state. Republicans here enjoy a solid majority. The state also hosts a fairly robust tea party movement that added to the national tide of Republican wins during the mid-term elections two years ago. So those like political science professor Ken Blanchard from Northern State University say it’s an uphill battle for a relatively unknown Democrat like Matt Varilek in a race against an incumbent Republican like Kristi Noem.
“Trying to break through to the larger voters as opposed to political junkies like myself presents a pretty good challenge for Varilek, I’m not sure quiet how he does that. I’d be surprised if he is effectively able to challenge Noem, but I’ve been surprised before,” says Blanchard.
Blanchard says to win Varilek has to build name recognition while simultaneously showing that the incumbent is doing poorly and that he can do better. Varilek’s TV campaign ads reflect this effort.
Varilek is from Yankton and says his rural and small town up bringing keeps him close to South Dakotans. Despite the challenges he faces in this race --Varilek remains confident he can sway voters to his side.
“I’m running and talking about issues that I think appeal to folks across the political spectrum and we can all agree that congress isn’t delivering the kind of results we deserve. With 9-percent approval rating it’s clear there is widespread frustration. And congress also seems to be tilted in favor of those at the very top of the income spectrum the wealthiest individual s the biggest corporations and Kristi has a voting record that reflects that as well,” says Varilek.
On the other side of this race incumbent Congresswoman Kristi Noem is doing her part to more or less ignore Varilek in her TV campaign adds. In a number of her adds Noem never even mentions her challenger Matt Varilek by name, and according to political science professor Ken Blanchard this is the right strategy for a strong incumbent like Noem to follow.
“If you’re an incumbent and you think your position is relatively solid then you don’t want to mention your opponents name – you don’t want to give anyone an idea that there is an alternative view – so you can afford to be very positive,” says Blanchard.
Noem also has a bigger fundraising machine. Even with her advantages--Noem is still rolling up her sleeves on the campaign trail. She stopped by the Central States Fair in August to shake hands and meet with constituents. I caught up with her near a swamp cooler – it was the most comfortable place to stand in triple digit heat. Noem is confident that South Dakotan’s will continue to support her and the Republican Party platform in congress.
“We have two very different viewpoints on the federal government that are going to be discussed and debated in this election I believe in a very limited and small role of the federal government in our lives I’ve never seen a bureaucrat in Washington D.C. Make a better decision for someone’s live than they can themselves,” says Noem.
While Noem makes her case. Varilek is doing his best to attack her record. He says she’s failed to deliver a farm bill so far. He also charges that she’s skipped out more than a few dozen important committee meetings. In defense Noem points to her 99-percent voting record in committee. She adds that she always puts the best interests of South Dakotan’s first. As the back and forth continues --those watching from the sidelines, like Pamela Carriveau a political science professor at Black Hills State University point out that Varilek still has the toughest case to make here. It’s hard for a Democrat to make negative allegations stick in a political climate that favors Republicans.
“In a closer race the focus on her attendance could be a deciding factor but I don’t see it being a large enough factor in this race to make a difference,” says Carriveau.
There are still three more debates scheduled between Noem and Vairlek in this race. Political scientists say in South Dakota debates rarely functions as game changers. October is the last push for both candidates to get their message to voters.
Here's a rundown of the scheduled debates coming up between the two candidates for the U.S. House.
-October 12th in Rapid City – Hosted by the Rapid City Journal.
-October 18th in Vermillion hosted by South Dakota Public Broadcasting, the South Dakota Newspaper Association and the AARP .
-November 2nd in Sioux Falls Hosted by KELO.