Here's one more reason for South Dakota Democrats to stop staring at their shoes and get out and fight. According to a new report from number-hungry Northern Plains News, Democrats make up a higher percentage of South Dakota's electorate than they do of some neighboring states. Even as Democratic voter registration declines, South Dakota's electorate remains 34% Democrat (34.279%, to be more optimistically precise!), compared to 32% in Nebraska, 31% in Iowa, and 21% in Wyoming.
Minnesota and Montana don't have folks register to vote by party, and North Dakota doesn't require folks to register at all, but if we want to take a guess, Wikipedia snagged numbers saying Montana is 32% Dem and North Dakota is 29% Dem. The People's Republic of Minnesota has 46% Dems.
Now take a look at the state legislatures around us. Things aren't pretty for Dems, but in Iowa, 31% of Dem voters manage to win enough seats to control the Senate 26–24 and compete in the House 47–53.
Democrats are the underdogs in South Dakota, but we're not six feet under. Iowa shows that there are enough of us that, if we organize and work, we can win.
That's what I like about Montana. I grew up there and you can pick what every primary you want to vote in. The NO party registration requirement is something that needs to happen every where. People should vote based on what they believe to be the best candidates and party registration should have nothing to do with it. More states need to adopt Montana's approach.
Montana Democrats have a reason to live there while the bulk of South Dakota's Dems have been isolated by apartheid.
The earth haters held their US House candidate debate last night: the fireworks made South Dakota's Senate forum look like a middle school class play.
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/gop-house-hopefuls-debate-in-kalispell/article_7c5759c4-e6e7-11e3-9234-001a4bcf887a.html
With every passing year that we see Republicans dominate this state, my irritation grows at the SD Democratic Party.
They don't seem to know what their role in politics really is. We hardly if ever see or hear of them taking an aggressive lead in voter education and registration. Their failure to realize that this a full time job is frustrating.
A few year back when Johnson beat Thune by a mere 500 votes it was held that the Indian vote made the difference.
If Democrats want to actively participate in elections in this state they will get themselves to reservations, register voters, and see to it that they get to the polls on election day.
Overall Voter Registration Numbers
As of June 1, 2010, total voter registration numbers in Iowa are as follows (the numbers below include active and inactive registrants):
• No Party: 772,725
• Democrats: 710,017
• Republicans: 607,567
To view these numbers by county, visit http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/VRStatsArchive/2010/CoJune10.pdf
>These are numbers from 2010 showing actual numbers of voters in iowa. I knew no party affikistions have been growing.
I'm surprised at MN's numbers. I feel pretty certain that Minn is a majority Democratic state.
Oh, let me take that back. MN has a Green Party and an Independent (Messed Ventura) Party. Now I wonder what percentage the Republicans have. 30 something?
That was supposed to say "Jesse" Ventura! Damn you autocorrect!
I'm not worried. I don't belong to either party. So, who cares what happens to Democrats or Republicans.
Messed Ventura made more sense.
True, Jim.
Hey, Jesse is quite outspoken, but I think he's for the most part, he's a straight shooter. I remember a story he told about winning the governor's race. That January when he took office, he was called into a meeting with the 'powers that be' (CEOs, one percenters of MN I assume), and he was wondering what was going on. According to Jesse, they just wanted to chat and they finally asked him how a third party was able to win. They were not expecting the small Independent party to win. They obviously wanted to intimidate him. I believe this is a true story.
so is/was he a seal or not?
Leslie, Ventura was a member of the UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) in the Navy, which is the equivalency of a Navy Seal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura
There is some truth to that Jenny. It's his overbearing, insufferable arrogance, connected to one of the biggest mouths anywhere, that I find less than attractive.