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Stephanie Herseth (born on June 1 , 2004 , briefly giving the state its first all-Democratic congressional delegation since 1937 (until incoming Senator John Thune , who formerly represented the district assumed the seat he won from Senator Tom Daschle ). In the 2004 General Elections , Herseth retained her seat by a seven percent margin over Republican Larry Diedrich . Herseth was the first woman in state history to win a full term in Congress. Herseth was raised on her family's farm near Houghton (between Hecla and Columbia ) in a family active in South Dakota politics:
Herseth received her undergraduate, graduate, and law degrees all from Georgetown University . She ran for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the 2002 Election and lost to Bill Janklow . In early 2004, Janklow resigned his seat after he was convicted of Manslaughter , triggering a special election. Herseth was selected as the Democratic nominee for this special election and she beat GOP candidate Larry Diedrich with 51 percent in a close-fought election on June 1 , 2004 . As both candidates had also been selected to represent their parties in the general election in November, campaigning continued after the special election. In the November general election, Herseth was elected to a full term with 53.4 percent of the vote, an increase of a few percentage points compared with the even closer June special elections. The vote margin in June was about 3,000 votes, by November it had grown to over 29,000. Both elections were hard-fought and close compared to many House races in the rest of the United States, and the special election was watched closely by a national audience. The general election was also viewed as one of the most competitive in the country, but was overshadowed in the state by the highly competitive Senate race between Tom Daschle and John Thune . In both elections, Herseth campaigned as an "independent voice" and has generally been moderate in the Congress. She supports Abortion rights, has been vocal against cuts to veterans programs, has advocated the use of renewable fuels like Ethanol , and supports farm programs. As a member of the Blue Dog coalition, she does, however, oppose her party's leadership on some issues on which there is disagreement between conservative South Dakota and the more liberal Democratic leadership. For example, in the 2004 general election she was endorsed by the NRA , and she supported President Bush 's call for a Federal Marriage Amendment . EXTERNAL LINKS
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