I get the feeling that Kevin Jensen saw the handwriting on the wall and got out while the getting was good.
From Dakota News Now, Austin Goss is reporting that Kevin Jensen has dropped out of the race for State GOP Chair, and is now endorsing Tom Brunner for the job:
After a brief stint in the race, Kevin Jensen is dropping out of the running for the chair of the South Dakota Republican Party, and being replaced by a former state lawmaker.
and..
“The voters in my district elected me to represent them as their state representative. I believe that is where my focus should be,” Jensen wrote. “Becoming the chair of the party would be a distraction and dilute my time from what I was elected to do.”
and..
In his announcement, Jensen says that he would endorse former state lawmaker Tom Brunner for the spot.
That was quick. And No. That’s an awful choice. Nothing against Tom personally, but after serving in the state legislature off and on over 14 years of serving, after all that time in front of the voters, with the name ID and all that experience, when he ran in the primary in 2022 his neighbors decided they would prefer someone else in the State House and sent Neal Pinnow instead.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement to move him forward to being the leader of the South Dakota Republican Party.
Brunner is a good guy. I like him quite a lot but if I had a vote it would be for Wiik.
Jensen should be removed from the legislature tomorrow for the reasons you highlighted.
This musical chair deal is exactly what happened at convention. That crowd will just vote for anyone with little vetting.
Wiik is doing it right. Working hard.
If Kevin Jensen believes no legislator should be chair, why did he run in the first place? Or is this a new feeling on his part?
I will pass on Tom the taxer. We are taxed enough already. If he isn’t giving himself a raise, he is trying to raise taxes on us. Here are bills he sponsored:
2008:
HB 1175 provide partial reimbursement to legislators for constituent services.
HB 1205 make annual salary increases for legislators consistent with annual increases for other state officials and employees.
HB 1206 increase the salaries of legislators.
2009:
HB 1256 provide for a temporary increase in the sales and use tax and to declare an emergency.
2011:
HB 1222 temporarily increase the state sales and use tax to fund education and other budget needs and to declare an emergency.
2018:
HB 1294 increase the tax on certain alcoholic beverages and to distribute the revenue.
HCR 1007 Encouraging thoughtful taxation of alcohol products in the state and calling for alcohol to become budget neutral rather than a drain on the resources and the economy of South Dakota.
His NEIGHBORS, the precinct Tom Brunner lives in voted for him over 80%.
It literally took Noems endorsement, countless ads, and a hit job by a PAC for Pinnow to just barely beat Tom just for Pinnow to be another puppet for Noem. If you want another institution to go under Noems control, Wiiks your man.
Tom is running because Taffy told him to run. When will Taffy go away. Not soon enough.
Taffy Howard is the new Lora Hubbel.
Taffy is a coward.
Will Kevin be resigning from the legislature?
Thune voted for the wasteful lame duck democrat $1.7 Omnibus Bill. This put our country way further in debt, watered down our gun rights, money to LGBTQ groups and causes and gave no money to secure our border. This violated a half dozen sections of our 2022 party platform. So if Thune endorses Wiik I am against Wiik