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Endorsement: Congressional incumbents deserve re-election
October 29, 2008 | The Mitchell Daily Republic

U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin are farm-state lawmakers. They’ve proven it during their terms in office, and because of their work in the past for farmers and this state’s agrarian concerns, we feel they both deserve election on Tuesday.

The pair of Democrats also have the experience factor we feel is important for our lawmakers, and it makes no sense now to remove either from office in this time of market instability and the rollercoaster economy in general.

Johnson serves on several powerful committees, most notably the Appropriations Committee, which has its hands on America’s purse strings. He also serves on the Indian Affairs Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, both of which will be key for South Dakotans in the coming years.

It’s true that we have been terribly disappointed that Johnson has declined to debate his opponent, Republican Joel Dykstra, this election season. But we feel we must overlook this disservice to voters during the campaign and instead focus on his many years of service to those same voters as our senior United States senator.

As for Dykstra, we appreciate his background, which has ties to the oil industry. We just don’t feel he’s a better man to send to Washington than Johnson, who already has proven himself in Congress.

Johnson has pushed for country of origin labeling, for agriculture disaster safety nets and other issues for family farmers. He is endorsed by the NRA, the South Dakota Education Association, the VFW and others.

Herseth Sandlin, too, has fought for South Dakota’s rural interests and, like Johnson, has experience on committees that are important to South Dakota, including the Agriculture Committee, Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Natural Resources Committee. In the past, she was executive director of the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation.

She is endorsed by the National Education Association, the NRA, the South Dakota Education Association and the national and state branches of the Farmer’s Union, among others.

Her opponent, Republican Chris Lien, comes from a business background in the Black Hills, but has never served in political office of any kind.

Lien and Dykstra have good ideas. We just don’t feel either mounted a strong enough campaign to convince us that they should be in Congress ahead of the incumbents.

We know Herseth Sandlin and Johnson have made controversial votes and at times have followed party lines during their long careers in Congress. But elections, to us, aren’t about a single issue or vote. They are about reliability, experience and dedication to their home state.

Johnson and Herseth Sandlin have those traits, and that’s why we plan to vote for them Tuesday.

Mistake on part of Dykstra camp resulted in endorsement mixup

The Joel Dykstra campaign Web site earlier this week mistakenly reported that The Daily Republic had given its endorsement to Dykstra.

The Daily Republic called to ask the campaign about the announcement and was told that it was an oversight on the part of the campaign. Dykstra staffers then immediately removed the incorrect information.

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