Support for Republican Dennis Daugaard has jumped to its highest level yet in South Dakota's gubernatorial race.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds Daugaard, the current lieutenant governor, leading Heidepriem by better than two-to-one, 59% to 27%.  Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and 10% are undecided.

Last month, Daugaard led Heidepriem 52% to 35%. 

In surveys dating back to March, Daugaard’s support has remained in the narrow range of 49% to 53%.  In the same surveys, support for Heidepriem has ranged from 32% to 36%. 

Heidepriem faces a traditionally conservative electorate that hasn’t elected a Democratic governor since 1974.

Republican Kristi Noem again passes the 50% mark of support this month against incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin in the race for South Dakota’s only House seat. 

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This statewide telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters in South Dakota was conducted on August 3, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Daugaard holds commanding leads among both male and female voters in the state. He earns 81% support among GOP voters, while just 55% of Democrats back Heidepriem, a state senator. Among voters not affiliated with either political party, the Republican leads his challenger 57% to 14%.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of South Dakota voters regard Daugaard as a conservative.  Thirty-two percent (32%) say Heidepriem is a liberal, while 33% view him as a moderate.

Two-thirds (67%) of voters in the state describe Daugaard’s political views as mainstream. Only 14% see them as extreme.

Forty-two percent (42%) characterize Heidepriem’s views as mainstream, but 35% think they're extreme. 

Twenty-five percent (25%) of voters in South Dakota share a Very Favorable view of Daugaard, while only two percent (2%) view him Very Unfavorably. 

Heidepriem is viewed Very Favorably by 14% and Very Unfavorably by 12%.

Both candidates are well-known in the state, but at this point in a campaign, Rasmussen Reports considers the number of people with strong opinions more significant than the total favorable/unfavorable numbers.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of South Dakota voters rate their personal finances as good or excellent, higher than the level measured nationally.  Only 11% rate their personal finances as poor.  Twenty-nine percent (29%) say their personal finances are getting better, but 40% say they’re getting worse. 

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters in the state approve of the job being done by current GOP Governor Mike Rounds. Twenty-nine percent (29%) disapprove of Rounds’ job performance.

In South Dakota, Rasmussen Reports projected that McCain would defeat Obama by a 53% to 44% margin. McCain won 53% to 45%. In that same year, the final Rasmussen poll showed Senator Tim Johnson with a 54% to38% lead over Joel Dykstra. Johnson won 62% to 38%.

In 2004, Rasmussen Reports was the first to show John Thune ahead of Senator Tom Daschle. The final Rasmussen poll showed Thune winning 49% to 46%. Thune won 51% to 49%. Also in 2004, the final Rasmussen poll showed Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth leading Lawrence Diedrich 49% to 47%. Herseth won 53% to 46%.

 Rasmussen Reports also has released recent polls on the 2010 governor's races in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,   Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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