Last week I noted the difficulty that Democrats were having fielding candidates in downticket races in Missouri.  This problem seems to have spread to South Dakota, where the party failed to field anyone to take on first-term Senator John Thune, who narrowly defeated Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004.

In the gubernatorial race, Republicans are headed for a potentially brutal three-way primary in June.  For now, Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard has to be considered the frontrunner, but State Senators Dave Knudson and Gordon Howie are likely to have enough funds to get their message out.  As Knudson notes, in a small state like South Dakota, a little money goes a long way, and reporters need look back to further than Mike Rounds' 2002 victory to see evidence that the underdog can come from behind.  The winner will take on State Senator Scott Heidepriem in November.  A recent Rasmussen poll showed Republicans pretty well in control of the race for now.

Incidentally, the South Dakota Senate has only 35 members, which means nearly 10% of the Senate is running for Governor.

--------------------------------------------
Follow the RCP Blog on Twitter.
Become a fan of RCP on Facebook.
--------------------------------------------