South Dakota Democrats look to overcome eight-year losing streak
Eight years and 22 races.
That's how long it's been since a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota.
Despite the overwhelming string of failures, one party leader and one of the state's more recognizable Democrats see reason for optimism.
As Paula Hawks, Henry Red Cloud, Jay Williams and Hillary Clinton make an attempt to become the first Democrat to win on a statewide ballot since former U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson and former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in 2008, former U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland sees a ray of hope amid eight years of disappointment.
"I've lived at a time when we've had Democrats representing us in Washington, I mentioned (Tom) Daschle, Johnson and (James) Abourezk, and moderates like Sen. (Larry) Pressler," Weiland told The Daily Republic last week. "One time we had Tom, Tim and Stephanie, it was in recent memory here. So things have a tendency to sort of cycle around."
Read more: http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/local/4147845-sd-democrats-look-overcome-eight-year-losing-streak