In South Dakota, incumbent Senator Tom Daschle holds a narrow 3-point lead over challenger John Thune. A Rasmussen Reports survey shows that if the election were held today, 48% of South Dakota's likely voters would vote to re-elect the Senate Minority Leader while 45% would prefer Thune.

This race is expected to be one of the most closely contested campaigns in Election 2004. South Dakota is a heavily Republican state, but Daschle has a long track record of electoral success and the benefits of incumbency.

Thune lost a very close election, just a few hundred votes statewide, two years ago to now Freshman Senator Tim Johnson.

Both political parties have a plausible story line as to why they should win this Senate election in 2004. Democrats want to believe that Daschle is a stronger candidate than Johnson was and that should make a difference.

Republicans want to believe that Johnson won two years ago partly because voters wanted to keep their state's Senator as the Majority Leader in Washington. Now that Republicans have control of the Senate, Daschle's clout is not what it was in 2002.

The statewide telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on February 11, 2004. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Both Daschle and Thune are viewed favorably by voters in South Dakota.

Daschle is viewed favorably by 60% of likely voters and unfavorably by 38%. Sixty-four percent (64%) have a favorable opinion of Thune while 30% have an unfavorable opinion.

Political conservatives prefer Thune by a 66% to 29% margin. Self-identified liberals prefer Daschle, 73% to 20%.

Rasmussen Reports provides a comprehensive Election 2004 polling service including daily updates of the Presidential race.

Rasmussen Reports also measures the nation's economic confidence on a daily basis. Perceptions of the President's economic management and overall approval ratings often move up and down in synch with the confidence of Consumers and Investors.