Victory for former Herseth Sandlin chief of staff
Tessa Gould probably had one of the sweetest campaign nights in America. Gould, the chief of staff to former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, managed Heidi Heitkamp’s U.S. Senate victory in North Dakota. It was not a seat that Democrats were supposed to win, making it a big victory for the party.
Following the upset victory, Heitkamp named Gould her chief of staff. It’s a prestigious job in Washington. Heitkamp had some nice words for Gould, crediting her with running a “super campaign.”
For more on Gould and her background, check out the story done by her hometown newspaper in Jamestown, N.D.
Now, for those of us in South Dakota, the question is this: Is Gould’s COS position with Heitkamp long term? Or is this a holding position until Herseth Sandlin resumes a political career?
When Gould left to run Heitkamp’s campaign, the word in Democratic circles was that she would be back to run Herseth Sandlin’s 2014 Senate campaign. Of course, there is no Herseth Sandlin 2014 Senate campaign today, and this was back when Heitkamp appeared to be the Democratic also-ran in North Dakota.
So, we might not have seen the last of Gould in South Dakota politics.
Then again, being the chief of staff to a senator would probably be a tough job to leave.
