Tom Daschle, the Democrats' leader in the Senate, narrowly lost his South Dakota seat to John Thune.

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When the Sioux in South Dakota suffered serious blizzards and lost electricity, they needed help badly.

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Stalwart senators like Byron Dorgan of North Dakota politely gave up without a fight, and the Democrats lost House seats in both of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Kansas.

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Some conservatives point out that along with Akin and Mourdock, many mainstream candidates lost, too, like Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana, Rep. Rick Berg of North Dakota and former Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico.

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