Republicans whomping Democrats in the Plains States, from Wichita to Grand Forks

From Eric Dondero:

A few recent polls suggest the Democrats might want to think about just closing up shop in the central and upper Plain States. The region has been a GOP stronghold for decades. But in recent years, Democrats had made some inroads, electing Kathleen Sebilius Kansas Governor for two terms, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and with a solid lock on federal offices in North Dakota, such as Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, and Rep. Earl Pomeroy.

Now, the Plain States - Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota - are reverting from Red with a few spots of Purple, to deeply Red status.

NEBRASKA

An AP article from June, "Early dissapointment for Nebraska Dems," sums up Democrat problems, where they are not even running a serious campaign for Governor this year:

After years struggling to find viable candidates, the Nebraska Democratic Party appeared to turn a corner in 2008....But today, the party still has trouble drumming up candidates and finds itself more fractured than ever in the wake of a campaign finance scandal involving its candidate for governor....

Democrats in the state are running only paper candidates for the States' three congressional seats.

And this startling statistic: At the moment the Democrats hold only 17 of 49 seats in the Nebraska unicameral legislature. (Almost all of the Dem-held seats are from Omaha and Lincoln.) For 2010, according to the official Democratic Party of Nebraska website, they have been able to recruit only 10 candidates statewide for legislative seats. So, even if they win every seat, their minority status will drop down from 17 to 10. It's conceivable that they could drop down to just 5 or 6 out of 49.

From Rasmussen, Republican 71%, Dem 18%:

Republican Governor Dave Heineman continues to earn strong support from voters in his bid for reelection in Nebraska.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state shows Heineman picking up 71% of the vote. Mike Meister, an attorney who announced his candidacy this week, earns just 18% of the vote.

Nebraska Democrats were left without a candidate earlier this month when Omaha banker Mark Lakers dropped out of the race over questions about his campaign’s finances.

NORTH DAKOTA

From Rasmussen Republican 69%, Dem 25%:

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Hoeven picking up 69% support, while Democratic State Senator Tracy Potter gets 25% of the vote. Just one percent (1%) prefer some other candidate in the race, while five percent (5%) are undecided.

The numbers in this race have shown little change since Dorgan’s surprise announcement in January that he would not seek reelection. That announcement came shortly after a Rasmussen Reports poll in the state showed Hoeven with a 22-point lead over Dorgan in a hypothetical Senate match-up.

Since then, support for Hoeven has ranged from 68% to 73%, while Potter has earned 17% to 25% of the vote. Last month, Hoeven led Potter 69% to 22%

And Republican Mike Berg has been ranging from 7 to 9 points ahead of incumbent Dem Rep. Pomeroy.

KANSAS

Republican 69%, Dem 23%

Two days ago, this poll was released by SurveyUSA. This is the first polling that has been done with a Republican - Democrat match-up since the Kansas primaries two weeks ago.

US SENATE – KANSAS (Survey USA)
Jerry Moran (R) 69%
Lisa Johnston (D) 23%
Others 5%

Also, SurveyUSA reports that Sam Brownback is ahead of his Democrat opponent in the race for Governor, 67% to 25%. They describe that race as a "Blowout" for the Republicans.

SOUTH DAKOTA

There is only one significant race in the Plains States that could even be considered any sort of battle; the South Dakota lone congressional seat.

From Rasmussen, Republican 49%, Dem 44%:

In April, the incumbent [Democrat Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin] led by 15 points.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in South Dakota shows Noem with 49% support, while Herseth-Sandlin picks up 44% of the vote. Four percent (4%) favor some other candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided.

Photos - North Dakota's John Hoeven and family, South Dakota's Kristi Noem, right, and Kansas's Jerry Moran and family.