“Stephanie Herseth Sandlin” on The Daily Caller

Last Valentine’s Day, South Dakota businessman Ted Hustead fell in love, politically speaking. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is retiring and his party has a big problem in 2012 — and beyond. (more)

In a fell swoop, the once-powerful Blue Dog caucus of conservative House Democrats was reduced from 54 members to 26 in Tuesday’s midterm election. (more)

A look of the key races in the 50 states: (more)

Rising Republican star Kristi Noem is solidifying her lead in the South Dakota House race and now leads incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin by five points, according to a new poll. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Grasping to keep control of Congress, Democratic leaders are turning their backs on some of their staunchest supporters in the House and propping up stronger candidates who have routinely defied them on health care, climate change and other major issues. (more)

If money is any indication, the hottest Republican House candidate in the country is Kristi Noem. The 38-year-old rancher has raised more campaign cash than any Republican house challenger in the country. (more)

NEW YORK (AP) — An unusually large contingent of female Republican candidates with strong anti-abortion views is heating up debate on the issue and could change the political equation in the next Congress. (more)

It may be too early to tell, but after 20 months of supporting massive increases in government spending, President Obama’s proposal for a $50 billion infrastructure overhaul could offer some Democrats who say they are concerned with the size of the federal budget a late chance to prove themselves as deficit hawks before the November midterm elections. (more)

McGREGOR, Texas (AP) — Rep. Chet Edwards, an imperiled Democrat deep in the heart of Republican territory, finds exiting American Legion Post No. 273 slow going. Supporters and well-wishers keep stopping him. (more)

Sen. John Thune has already spent more than $4.6 million on a re-election campaign that doesn’t have an opponent. (more)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — As South Dakota’s lone House member, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) wants each of her votes to reflect the wholesome, conservative values of this rural rectangle of a state. So she has artfully tailored her record: no on the health-care overhaul; no on the Wall Street bailouts; no on the cap-and-trade energy bill. She’s a proud Democrat, she says, but a prouder South Dakotan. (more)

The public doesn’t trust Washington politicians—and those politicians don’t trust each other. Those two truths could doom President Obama’s health care bill even if it weren’t an unaffordable behemoth. (more)

Democrats voted down an attempt Thursday by Republicans to bar them from using a “deem and pass” strategy, dubbed the “Slaughter Solution,” which would allow the House to pass the Senate health care bill without directly voting on it. (more)

Are Democrats marching toward a health-care bill behind the scenes, or are they slipping backwards? (more)

Chances for a health-care bill grew dimmer on Thursday, by most indications, but House Democrats may have found a way to force the Senate to work with them that would remove a key roadblock to passing the reform desired by President Obama. (more)