South Dakota Democrats were boasting to the Pierre Capitol Journal that they’d filled all 105 State Legislative slots. So, where are they?
Early Thursday, the Capital Journal tallied three of the 35 districts statewide that still lacked a Democrat as a candidate, and nearly a dozen districts that lacked a complete pair of Democrats as House candidates. But Matson told the Capital Journal he’s expecting a complete slate of Democrats as candidates, filling all 105 slots in the legislature.
Krebs told the Capital Journal that some candidates from both parties – for various state offices – had failed to meet the minimum number of signatures, and would be notified by letter. The website does not include a list of candidates who didn’t have enough signatures.
If all the Democratic legislative candidates have enough valid signatures, Matson said it would be the first time the party has had candidates in all 105 slots, since 1984 when the current format for the state legislature was adopted. The legislature has 35 districts, each represented by a senator and two members of the House.
The previous high came in 2008, the year Barack Obama was elected, when 101 out of 105 slots were filled, Matson said.
I’m counting 92 at the moment. Not exactly 105. And there are a number of those that are obvious placeholders.
You have to wonder how deep a dive they had to do to fill that many slots, as they’ve gone to some unusual lengths to recruit before, as noted in this example from 2012:
There are places it wouldn’t be shocking to see the address of an assisted living center but listed as the residence of a political candidate is unique.
“They didn’t have anyone ready for the primaries. So they thought of something to do, to get out petitions and place my name on the ballot,” Dorothy Kellogg said.
Kellogg says she didn’t intend to actually run for the two-year term.
Democrats in the Watertown area needed another name on the ballot. So she planned to have her name there as a placeholder. Then she’d file the correct paperwork, take her name off and replace it with another democrat.
But Kellogg, who served in the legislature in the 80s and 90s, recently received a letter saying her complete paperwork didn’t make it to the Secretary of State’s office by the deadline. So her name, by state law, will stay on the ballot.
According to the Secretary of State, August 7th is the last day for placeholder candidates to withdraw from the general election (ARSD 5:02:07:05. (SDCL 12-6-55).
We’ll know by then what cards Democrats are actually holding. And how much they’re bluffing.
The Democrats are using common core math
Maybe they should. At least then they’d be right.
The fun part is, they find anyone with a heartbeat to be a placeholder. When will they figure out that when they put up candidates with absolutely no chance of winning, they are also giving their republican opponents a chance to raise money that will further harm the dems down the road… Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.