Why Herseth's Win Matters

John Nichols of the Nation explains the significance of Tuesday's pick up by the Democrat Stephanie Herseth of a previously Republican-held seat in South Dakota.

To get a sense of how much of a breakthrough Herseth's win represents for South Dakota Democrats, remember this: The party now controls the state's entire congressional delegation for the first time since 1937, when the popular programs of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal helped Democrats to break the historic Republican hold on the rural states of the upper Midwest.

It has been a very long times since Democrats were on the rise in rural America, in large part because the party has abandoned the economic populist, pro-small farmer themes that were traditionally its greatest strength.

Herseth's win is good news, but it's still going to take a hell-of-a-lot of work to keep SD's congressional delegation Democratic through November.