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seems to have gained strength in recent years as social conservatives joined with traditional GOP fiscal conservatives, he said.
• South Dakota Democrats face an uphill battle to win any statewide race, Burns said.
• "It's going to take a very special campaign to accomplish that," Burns said.
• Varilek promised that kind of campaign as he spoke to reporters Wednesday, saying he will criticize Noem throughout the campaign for voting to privatize Medicare and cut taxes for oil companies and wealthy people. Noem, as a leader of the GOP freshman represen

tatives elected two years ago, is a part of the stalemate that has prevented Congress from getting much done, he said.
• The Democrat also signaled that his campaign will hammer on Noem's alleged absences from House Agriculture Committee meetings. The South Dakota Democratic Party has said Noem has attended just four of 20 committee meetings since being appointed to the panel last June.
• "We've only got one voice in the U.S. House, and right now that voice is not being heard," Varilek said.
• Noem has said the Democrats' allegations are "hogwash" and inaccurate. She said she missed some Agriculture Committee meetings because she had to attend meetings of other committees.
• The Republican congresswoman has said the GOP plan to change Medicare would not affect anyone who is already retired or near retirement age, but the program must be fixed before it goes broke. She says tax increases would hurt the

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