While the race for the White House will dominate the Election Night coverage, the future of the Senate hangs in the balance tomorrow as voters in a handful of states will determine who will control the chamber. But the Republicans seem that they will likely hold on to their majority, though it will be very slim.
South Dakota: After the Bush-Kerry matchup, all eyes will be on the Mount Rushmore State. There, former Rep. John Thune (right), a Republican, will try to take down Democrat Tom Daschle, the Senate’s minority leader. Though Daschle has always had to compete in a largely Republican state, the national Republican establishment has made Daschle ‘s defeat a primary objective. Thune lost by a few hundred votes in 2002 in his challenge against Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.
Though the race will be close, whispers inside the Beltway have been bringing up talk of a new Democratic Senate leadership slate should Daschle be defeated. On an interesting related note, South Dakotans have been subjected to anti-Daschle ads criticizing the minority leader’s Foxhall Road home in Upper Northwest.
