SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- South Dakota's Senate race remained too close to call early Wednesday, but Gov. Bill Janklow won his bid for Congress and Republican Mike Rounds won his bid to replace Janklow in the governor's mansion.
With 91 percent of the vote counted, incumbent Democrat Tim Johnson trailed President George W. Bush's handpicked challenger, Rep. John Thune, by 1 percentage point in a race that was seen as a proxy fight between Bush and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Thune spokesman Rob Collins said the campaign was still confident Thune would prevail.
"We're doing well in the east and those counties are more evenly split," Collins said. "In the west is where traditional Republicans do very well and the west counties haven't come in yet. We're exactly where we projected ourselves to be now."
The House race pitted the Republican four-term governor against Stephanie Herseth, who was running her first race, with Janklow capturing 53 percent of the vote to Herseth's 46 percent. Janklow got into the race to keep former Sen. Larry Pressler from winning the GOP nomination in the primary.
In declaring victory, Janklow sounded a patriotic theme and pledged to address the "awesome task" before Congress.
"I hold no illusions I can go to Washington and change the face of Washington," Janklow said, adding that such issues as health care, education, energy policy and homeland security must be addressed.
"The work of America is never finished," he said, urging voters to keep him focused on the promises he made during the campaign. "Promises mean nothing. In this country, it's performance that counts."
In the four-way governor's race, Rounds garnered 57 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Democrat Jim Abbott.
Rounds called the campaign "gentlemanly."
"I received a phone call from the White House and apparently word travels pretty fast. It was a great call," Rounds said.
Pundits had agreed voter turnout would be key. The Secretary of State's Office projected voter turnout at 75 percent.
