Dirty Dozen 2002
John Thune (R): Race At A Glance 2002
South Dakota Senate
| John Thune (R) | 49.5% | |
| Tim Johnson (D) | 49.6% |  |
View John Thune's Dirty Dozen profile
The Race
The South Dakota Senate race was one of the longest and hardest fought campaigns of 2002. With both President Bush and Majority Leader Tom Daschle staking personal political capital on the outcome of this race, it garnered a great deal of national attention. Both candidates went up on television early with paid advertising. Plus, the national campaign committees of both parties and several outside groups placed large ads on behalf of the candidates.
The Environment
John Thune has a long record of voting against protecting the environmental health of South Dakota. He has a 0 percent rating for 2001 and has earned a lifetime LCV rating of just 12 percent. In stark contrast, Johnson has amassed a moderate record on environmental issues with a lifetime LCV score of 71 percent. LCV determined that the environment was an issue that moved independents and swing Democrats in the southeastern region of the state. In a poll conducted by the Mellman Group in May, the top two messages that struck these voters were Thune's opposition to cleaning up 161 polluted bodies of water in South Dakota, and his vote against safer arsenic standards for drinking water. Other environmental issues brought up in this race included John Thune's forest management in the Black Hills and water levels in the Missouri River.
LCV Activities
On June 6, LCV named John Thune the first member of its 2002 Dirty Dozen campaign. On June 14, LCV launched its first political ads of the cycle, connecting Thune’s poor water protection record to $87,300 in campaign contributions from groups that lobby against clean water legislation. The ads prompted Thune to respond in kind, forcing him to use important campaign resources early in the race. LCV got extensive TV and print media coverage, garnering headlines like, “Battle royal for the Senate brewing on the prairie” (Minneapolis Star Tribune 6/23/02), “Environmental group launches anti-Thune ad in Senate campaign” (Associated Press 6/6/02), and “The Dirty Dozen in South Dakota” (KSFY-ABC Sioux Falls 6/7/02).
