Republicans made beating Senator Daschle a priority and tapped the telegenic Senator Thune, a former basketball star from the hamlet of Murdo, as their standard bearer. US Congress's top Democrat, Tom Daschle, lost his bid to be re-elected to the Senate, capping a night of defeats his party, which also failed to win control of either chamber of the US legislature.
| Don'tcha just hate it when the rubes back home pay attention to what you do in Washington? |
Senator Daschle, arguably the most powerful Democrat in the US Congress, lost the Senate's most closely watched election in a squeaker to Republican challenger John Thune, a former member of the House of Representatives. In failing to hold on to the seat he first won in 1986, Senator Daschle becomes the first Senate leader to lose re-election in more than half a century. Senator Daschle and Senator Thune spent more than $US40 million ($A53.64 million) in what was also the Senate's most expensive and bitterly contested race. Although a long-time South Dakota incumbent and the state's top politician, Senator Daschle faced a tough race as a Democrat in an overwhelmingly Republican state.
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