South Dakota House: Noem (R) Regains Small Lead Over Herseth-Sandlin (D)

Republican Kristi Noem has edged back into the lead over incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin in South Dakota’s U.S. House race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in South Dakota finds Noem with 47% support, while Herseth-Sandlin earns 44% of the vote. Six percent (6%) like another candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

It remains a very close race. Noem fell slightly behind Herseth-Sandlin last month 47% to 45% for the first time since winning the Republican Primary in early June.

Noem, it appears, is beginning to overcome the impact of news reports about her questionable driving record. Herseth-Sandlin was elected to Congress in 2004 following the resignation of GOP Congressman Bill Janklow who was convicted of manslaughter after he killed a motorcyclist while running a stop sign at high speed.

Despite being one of the few Democrats in Congress to vote against the national health care bill, Herseth-Sandlin is contending with an electorate that’s very unhappy with President Obama and his policies.

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This statewide telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters in South Dakota was conducted on October 4, 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.