Nathan Johnson/P&D Max Sandlin was in Vermillion recently with his wife, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), for an ice cream social with supporters. The former Texas congressman says he's enjoying life in South Dakota and added that the state's residents have welcomed him with open arms. Click to view the Slideshow

Although he married Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) and officially became a South Dakotan in the last year, former Democratic Texas Rep. Max Sandlin admits that he's still trying to break some of his home-state habits.

"I still tell Stephanie the story of the Alamo about once a week," Sandlin joked via phone recently.

The connection is understandable. The 55-year-old grew up in the Lone Star State and represented its First Congressional District for eight years before a now-infamous Republican redistricting plan backed by former Rep. Tom DeLay led to odds he couldn't overcome during the 2004 election.

But Sandlin said the transition to life as a South Dakotan - the couple has a residence in Brookings - has been an easy one since their marriage a year ago this month.

"There are many similarities between South Dakota and Texas that maybe aren't immediately apparent," he said. "The people are very similar. The economies of South Dakota and Texas were both originally based on agriculture and a commitment to the land."

Sandlin got to know the southeast region of this state a little better last month when he traveled with Rep. Herseth Sandlin to Vermillion for an ice cream social with local supporters.

Being on the road with his wife is nothing new. When Herseth Sandlin first joined Congress, Sandlin was a congressional mentor to her and did some fundraising on her behalf.

But last month, Sandlin's role was a little different: His biggest responsibility was to drive Herseth Sandlin to Vermillion and back to Sioux Falls, he said. Still, his past campaign experience was unmistakable as he naturally mingled with the Vermillion crowd for more than an hour.

"It's a different role," he said. "Now she gets to do all the talking, and I have to stand idly by."

Being around a wife who is in Congress, Sandlin said he has realized just how big of an adjustment it has been for him to leave that structured lifestyle behind.

"When you're in Congress, your time is scheduled almost 24 hours a day," he said. "You're very focused and very busy. You're going from event to event, committee to committee, vote to vote - and you have staff that are keeping you on time. Now that I'm the spouse, I see Stephanie going through those same things."

Their mutual understanding of the commitment it takes to serve in Congress helps make their relationship work, Sandlin said.

He's no slouch, either. Though no longer in the House, Sandlin keeps the hours of a congressman, working 12-15-hour days as a co-chair of Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations. An attorney by trade, he now travels the country doing crisis management, strategic advising and planning on policy and politics, as well as government relations work.

With such intense schedules, Sandlin said he and his wife have to work to make time for each other.

"We understand the responsibilities that each of us have and the schedules we keep. We make it a point to get out our calendars and plan times we can be together and times we know we can go to South Dakota," he said. "Stephanie is the best life partner that I could have. We're committed to each other. If it takes a little effort to get our schedules in sync, I'm certainly willing to do that."

'People In South Dakota Are More Focused On Policy Than Politics'

While Texas will always be in his heart, Sandlin said South Dakota has some advantages over Texas.

"I do think that the people in South Dakota are more focused on policy than politics. The political environment in Texas is somewhat more abrasive than in South Dakota," he said. "There are a number of reasons for that. One is that Texas has a larger population. There are 24 million people there. The state is so large that different regions of the state have different interests.

"The state moved from a Democratic state to a Republican state fairly rapidly," Sandlin added. "We had Democrats on the local level, and Republicans on the national level. There was tension there."

Sandlin knows first-hand how coarse Texas politics can be. While many South Dakotans wince at the memory of a heated political race such as the one between former Sen. Tom Daschle and Sen. John Thune in 2004, it probably doesn't hold a candle to the Texas redistricting saga that transpired earlier this decade.

States are required to redraw their congressional districts every 10 years. A Texas court redrew the state's map after the 2000 Census, but after Republicans gained a majority in the state Legislature in 2002, they proposed a second plan more to their liking. It was approved in 2003, but not before Democrats protested by abandoning two special sessions to consider the matter.

The redistricting eventually led to four Democratic incumbents being ousted from Congress in the 2004 election. Sandlin was one of them. He admits he's still a little bitter over what transpired.

"There are now no members of Congress representing the rural areas of east Texas," Sandlin said, adding that he still believes the redistricting plan was both unconstitutional and morally wrong. "The First Congressional District of Texas was split into nine districts. Both the rural and minority votes have now become inconsequential because they have been cut up in such a way that they are paired with large urban votes. It really doesn't matter how the rural people vote. And it really doesn't matter how the Hispanics, the African Americans or other minorities vote. Basically, their vote doesn't count anymore."

He said his former district had more or less been intact since Texas became a state in 1845.

In 2006, the United State Supreme Court ruled that only a small portion of the Texas redistricting plan was inappropriate because it weakened the voting strength of Hispanics.

The plan was spearheaded by former U.S. Rep. Tom "The Hammer" DeLay, who resigned from Congress in 2006 after being indicted on charges that he had conspired to violate campaign finance laws.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't give the farmers and ranchers I represented back their vote," Sandlin said.

Coming from such a partisan atmosphere, Sandlin said he has been impressed by the way South Dakota's delegation works together to pursue state, rather than party, interests.

The delegation's work on preventing the closure of the Ellsworth Air Force Base is a good example of that, Sandlin said.

"In other areas across the country with more divided delegations, or less focused delegations, they were not as lucky as South Dakota. Bases in their states were closed," Sandlin said. "The bipartisan effort of the South Dakota delegation was recognized by everyone."

'There's Unlimited Potential In South Dakota'

Get Sandlin talking about the virtues of his adopted state of South Dakota, and it's hard to get him to stop. The fact that he's an avid fisherman and hunter only adds to his admiration.

"There's unlimited potential in South Dakota," he said. "You have a great education system. You have tremendous financial services and health care infrastructure that's already in place. Your real estate is fairly inexpensive. On top of that, the focus of the entire country right now is on energy. That speaks well for renewable fuels and ag business in South Dakota."

Rural settings like South Dakota are becoming more and more appealing to people in big cities, Sandlin added.

"They want to go to places where they can afford to live, have a decent home, send their kids to school, feel safe, and be able to afford health care and an automobile," he said. "Those are the kinds of things you can do in South Dakota that you can't do in New York City."

After being married for a year and, of course, becoming a registered South Dakota voter, Sandlin said life couldn't be better.

"I look forward to a lot of future years with Stephanie in South Dakota," he said.

While Herseth Sandlin hasn't officially announced that she will run for re-election to the House in 2008, she is widely expected to do so.

Not surprisingly, Sandlin is a big fan of his wife's professional accomplishments.

"She's smart, well-prepared, focused, and she is really committed to pragmatic policy and not partisan politics," he said. "Although she's my wife, I often stand aside and see her as an independent third party. I see her first question is, 'Is this good for South Dakota and the people of South Dakota?' She's not worried about the politics."

Does she have any bad habits? Judging from his response, Sandlin has learned a thing or two during the course of his marriage.

"I hate to admit it, but she really doesn't have a single bad habit," he said. "I think she's got that good Norwegian/Germanic Lutheran work ethic, and she's just focused, organized, neat and clean. That's the way she runs her business, and that's the way she runs her personal life."

And just to be safe, he adds, "She has quite a challenge in reforming a cowboy from Texas, but other than that, she does well."