Rick Weiland
Until recently, national Democrats looked like they were writing off Rick Weiland's chances in the South Dakota Senate race. However, with Republican Mike Rounds
mired in controversy over allegations that he helped sell off EB-5 visas to the highest bidders, the DSCC has finally taken a second look at this contest. On Tuesday,
a new SurveyUSA poll came out showing a three-way race, with Rounds leading independent Larry Pressler only 35-32 and Weiland just behind at 28. Even though Weiland's in third place, he has two potential advantages: Rounds' numbers suck, and Pressler doesn't have any real money or outside support.
And now, at long last, Weiland will have some real money, because the DSCC is going on the air here—and in a very big way:
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will spend $1 million in South Dakota — mostly on television and the rest on field operations — in a last-minute attempt to hold a U.S. Senate seat they now view as winnable, Bloomberg Politics has learned. A DSCC official said advertising will likely be on the air by Monday. As in the Kansas Senate race, Democrats believe they now have a chance to offset inevitable losses elsewhere and maintain control of the Senate.
South Dakota is a very inexpensive state to advertise in, and few other groups are getting involved in the state, so this money can go a very long way toward helping Weiland. The Democrats also got some good news earlier this week when Larry Lessig's Mayday PAC committed $1 million to helping Weiland as well.
What once looked like an easy GOP win has turned into a very unpredictable three-way contest. Until recently, it appeared that Rounds, weak though he is, would still walk away with a plurality win, but with the DSCC now getting involved for the first time, we have a real race on our hands.
1:17 PM PT (David Nir): Daily Kos is very excited to announce that we're endorsing Rick Weiland, so please contribute $3 to his campaign to help him expand the playing field!
You can also check out his answers to our questionnaire here. You won't be displeased.