Democratic Senate candidate claims own party sabotaged his campaign

Democratic Senate candidate claims own party sabotaged his campaign
(Image credit: Facebook.com/PeopleForRickWeiland)

Rick Weiland, the Democratic Senate candidate for South Dakota's open seat, claims his own party's election committee deliberately undermined his campaign in hopes of boosting an independent candidate.

Some quick backstory: From the outset, former Republican governor Mike Rounds was considered a strong favorite in the three-way race. But a poll early this month found Rounds collapsing, with independent candidate — and former GOP Senator — Larry Pressler coming within three percentage points of him. Democrats immediately launched a $1 million negative ad blitz against Rounds, a tactic Weiland thinks wound up harming him more than his GOP foe.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.