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South Dakota is last on Obama's list… and the feeling is mutual
By SARAH WHEATON
When Barack Obama arrives in South Dakota on Friday, it’ll mark the 50th state he’s visited as president. But this isn’t the first time that South Dakota seemed to be last on his list – and the feeling seems to be mutual.
As president, Obama made it to every other state in the union at least once prior to his plans to give the commencement speech Friday at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, near South Dakota’s eastern edge. But as a candidate, Obama was forced at the last minute to campaign in South Dakota – which with Montana held the last Democratic primaries – as he waged a grueling delegate-by-delegate battle with Hillary Clinton. He visited Watertown and Sioux Falls in mid-May, 2008, and even hit the Corn Palace in Mitchell on June 1. But he lost that election on June 3; Democrats preferred Clinton by 55 percent.
In the general election, Obama won just under 45 percent of South Dakota’s vote, even though both Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and Rep. Stephanie Herseth were re-elected. Democrats lost the at-large House seat two years later. Then in 2012, Obama’s share of the vote dropped to 40 percent, and in 2014, Democrats didn’t even come close to holding onto Johnson’s seat when he retired. Now Republicans hold all the state’s top elected offices.
There’ve been other indignities, too: The South Dakota Republican Party passed a resolution calling for Obama’s impeachment last June, and with his approval ratings in 2014 at 32.2 percent, South Dakota ranks in the bottom 10 states when it comes to approving Obama’s job as president. (At least he’s doing better than in North Dakota, according to Gallup, where only 30.9 percent approve.)
Read more: South Dakota is last on Obama s list and the feeling is mutual - Sarah Wheaton - POLITICO
By SARAH WHEATON
When Barack Obama arrives in South Dakota on Friday, it’ll mark the 50th state he’s visited as president. But this isn’t the first time that South Dakota seemed to be last on his list – and the feeling seems to be mutual.
As president, Obama made it to every other state in the union at least once prior to his plans to give the commencement speech Friday at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, near South Dakota’s eastern edge. But as a candidate, Obama was forced at the last minute to campaign in South Dakota – which with Montana held the last Democratic primaries – as he waged a grueling delegate-by-delegate battle with Hillary Clinton. He visited Watertown and Sioux Falls in mid-May, 2008, and even hit the Corn Palace in Mitchell on June 1. But he lost that election on June 3; Democrats preferred Clinton by 55 percent.
In the general election, Obama won just under 45 percent of South Dakota’s vote, even though both Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and Rep. Stephanie Herseth were re-elected. Democrats lost the at-large House seat two years later. Then in 2012, Obama’s share of the vote dropped to 40 percent, and in 2014, Democrats didn’t even come close to holding onto Johnson’s seat when he retired. Now Republicans hold all the state’s top elected offices.
There’ve been other indignities, too: The South Dakota Republican Party passed a resolution calling for Obama’s impeachment last June, and with his approval ratings in 2014 at 32.2 percent, South Dakota ranks in the bottom 10 states when it comes to approving Obama’s job as president. (At least he’s doing better than in North Dakota, according to Gallup, where only 30.9 percent approve.)
Read more: South Dakota is last on Obama s list and the feeling is mutual - Sarah Wheaton - POLITICO
