Daschle loses Senate seat in race targeted by White House

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sen. Tom Daschle added a dubious distinction to his long political career — he became the first Senate party leader in more than 50 years to be voted out of office. And the White House couldn't be happier.

The Democrat lost to former Rep. John Thune by just 4,535 votes out of nearly 400,000 cast.

Daschle told a roomful of cheering supporters Wednesday morning that he was "grateful for the extraordinary opportunity" voters have given him over the years. He also looked back on his political career and reounted a time early on when someone mistook him for a paperboy.

"Well, that doesn't happen anymore," he said. "I'm a lot more recognized. I'm a lot grayer. I'm a grandfather. ... a lot wiser."

The GOP had targeted Daschle, the Senate minority leader, claiming he had been the chief obstruction to President Bush on such issues as tax cuts, judicial nominees and the war in Iraq.

For example, he angered Republicans and unnerved a few Democrats when, with the nation on the brink of war with Iraq, he said he was "saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war."

Daschle later said he regretted the timing of his criticism and expressed strong support for U.S. troops in Iraq.

Thune, 43, also argued that Daschle had lost touch with most South Dakotans, particularly on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

Daschle lost his seat after a bruising, $26 million contest. He and Thune spent more than $50 apiece on each of the state's 502,000 registered voters, as of mid-October. That does not include the millions of dollars being spent by outside groups, most of them opposed to Daschle.

South Dakotans were bombarded for months by attack ads. Many households got stacks of mailings and several telephone calls a day in the campaign's final month.

South Dakota is a heavily Republican state but has traditionally sent Democrats to Washington. Daschle's rise to the top levels of government has given this sparsely populated rural state a lot of political clout, a point the 56-year-old senator made throughout his campaign.

Elected to the House in 1978 by just 139 votes and re-elected three times, Daschle went to the Senate in 1986, becoming minority leader in 1994 and majority leader in 2001. He returned to the minority leader job just 18 months later, after the 2002 midterm elections.