Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
South Dakota Senate Race May Face Recount
Aired November 07, 2002 - 10:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: What about the rest of the Democratic leadership? Senator Tom Daschle says he wants to keep his leadership position, even though he would oversee the minority party beginning in January. And while the Republican takeover of the Senate is assured, the Senate race in Daschle's home state of South Dakota could face a recount.
Our Ed Lavandera is in Sioux Falls with the latest.
Ed -- good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well, at least here in South Dakota, Democrats are reacting as if this were one of the few victories that they were able to get on Election Day. The Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tim Johnson, has a lead of about 525 votes over his Republican counterpart, John Thune.
And under South Dakota law, because that margin is so close, that when these vote tallies are made official next Tuesday -- right now what they're doing here in this state is canvassing all of the votes because of that slim margin. They're canvassing all of the votes, and if it remains at that margin, the Republican candidate, Thune, will have the opportunity to ask for a recount. But it's not exactly clear what Thune will do at this point.
He said yesterday that he's extremely exhausted from the grueling campaign here. He said he'll make up his mind at that point. So, it's not exactly clear what will happen.
But here, Democrats are reacting as if this is one of the small areas where they were able to get a victory.
And on a lighter note, this is also a time for a lot of South Dakota residents to kind of catch up on a lot of commercials that they've missed out on over the course of the last two months. Campaign ads here were just hammering away on TV ads. A 30 second primetime spot was costing candidates about $850.
So, it was wall-to-wall campaign coverage, the campaign ads that were on TV here for about two months. And so, a lot of people here just catching up on stuff that they've missed for the last two months because of this campaign -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes, who would have thought people could be nostalgic for used car commercials? But apparently so in South Dakota. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.
LAVANDERA: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 7, 2002 - 10:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: What about the rest of the Democratic leadership? Senator Tom Daschle says he wants to keep his leadership position, even though he would oversee the minority party beginning in January. And while the Republican takeover of the Senate is assured, the Senate race in Daschle's home state of South Dakota could face a recount.
Our Ed Lavandera is in Sioux Falls with the latest.
Ed -- good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well, at least here in South Dakota, Democrats are reacting as if this were one of the few victories that they were able to get on Election Day. The Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tim Johnson, has a lead of about 525 votes over his Republican counterpart, John Thune.
And under South Dakota law, because that margin is so close, that when these vote tallies are made official next Tuesday -- right now what they're doing here in this state is canvassing all of the votes because of that slim margin. They're canvassing all of the votes, and if it remains at that margin, the Republican candidate, Thune, will have the opportunity to ask for a recount. But it's not exactly clear what Thune will do at this point.
He said yesterday that he's extremely exhausted from the grueling campaign here. He said he'll make up his mind at that point. So, it's not exactly clear what will happen.
But here, Democrats are reacting as if this is one of the small areas where they were able to get a victory.
And on a lighter note, this is also a time for a lot of South Dakota residents to kind of catch up on a lot of commercials that they've missed out on over the course of the last two months. Campaign ads here were just hammering away on TV ads. A 30 second primetime spot was costing candidates about $850.
So, it was wall-to-wall campaign coverage, the campaign ads that were on TV here for about two months. And so, a lot of people here just catching up on stuff that they've missed for the last two months because of this campaign -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes, who would have thought people could be nostalgic for used car commercials? But apparently so in South Dakota. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.
LAVANDERA: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
