At the turn of the century, both Dakotas suffered from a sort of political incongruity. Each state was reliably Republican in presidential contests and at the state level, yet each state had two Democratic senators. It was a peculiar combination that John Thune tried to end in 2002 with his run in South Dakota against Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. Thune, then serving as South Dakota’s at-large congressman, lost that race by just 524 votes.

Thune did not give up, however. He ran again in 2004, this time against Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, and he won by about 4,500 votes. It was an important turning point for both Dakotas.