Tuesday, August 2nd marks the deadline for candidates to file papers with the Secretary of State to withdraw from the state legislative races. And as has typically happened in elections past, we’re watching the numbers rack up from the Democrat side of the aisle, as they have a tendency to stuff the ballot with people who never had any intention of running but they wanted someone in there in case they could find someone good.
Who has pulled out so far?
| District | Name/office | Party | Misc |
| 4 | Fred Deutsch – House | R | Replaced by John Mills |
| 5 | Alanna Silvis – House | D | No Replacement yet |
| 5 | David G. Johnson – Senate | D | No Replacement yet |
| 9 | Holly Boltjes – Senate | D | 3rd time as placeholder! No Replacement yet. |
| 11 | Mary Claus – House | D | No Replacement yet |
| 12 | Betsy Lang – House | D | No Replacement yet |
| 13 | Steve Westra – House | R | No Replacement yet |
| 14 | Tony Pier – House | D | Replaced by JR LaPlante |
| 18 | Matt Stone – Senate | I | No Replacement. |
| 19 | Ardon Wek – House | D | No Replacement yet |
| 22 | Chuck Groth – Senate | D | No Replacement yet |
| 33 | Stephen Eckrich* – House | R | Withdrew before primary, so we’re not counting him. |
On the GOP Side, we have two, Deutsch and Westra who have withdrawn due to business reasons (as I’ve heard), one of whom (Deutsch) has already been replaced with an outstanding candidate, John Mills, and the other who will have a replacement in short order.
Probably the biggest disappointment for Republicans is the withdrawal of Matt Stone as an Independent candidate for State Senate in Yankton. Matt was a pretty good GOP candidate, and ran a great race two years ago, and many think Stone would have been extremely competitive against Craig Kennedy in Yankton, instead of the uphill battle he fought against Bernie Hunhoff 2 years ago.
No word why he pulled out this time, but that action gave the race to Kennedy, marking it as an unexpected win in the D column.
(Update. I’m told he had a job opportunity that required he move out of the District. Too bad, as Matt was a good candidate.)
Speaking of the D Column, as of this weekend we have 8 placeholder dems who have withdrawn, with one of them having been replaced by what they’re terming as a “good” candidate, now that they found someone to run in their stead. But the bigger question is how many, and who will join their ranks of the displaced as the candidates scurry to GET OUT this weekend.
We should anticipate several more coming off the ballot, as word is there’s the typical number of placeholders this year. With a ticket led by Hillary, Jay Williams, and Paula Hawks, there should be little wonder why their candidates are dropping like the proverbial flies. There’s no excitement, and the down ticket races see what’s coming their way – a malaise of substandard candidates who don’t inspire anyone.
In 2014, there were 14 placeholders on the Democrat side of the ticket that had to be replaced, and it looks like they might be on pace to meet that benchmark.
Stay tuned – they’re only going to continue to drop like flies.
J.R. LaPlante has the capacity to be a “good” candidate for the Dems. A lawyer and Cheyenne River tribal member, he’s currently the Director of Tribal Relations for Avera Health. He previously served as an assistant US Attorney in SD and was appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard as the first SD Secretary of Tribal Relations. While serving as Secretary, he also served with me on the ill-fated SD Commission for National and Community Service, which I chaired until its demise on 12/31/15.
He moved to Sioux Falls in 2014 when he took the US Attorney’s office role, so I don’t know how active he’s been in District 14.
To clarify, I chaired the SD Commission for National and Community Service from January 2014 until it dissolved on 12/31/15. Tom Katus was the founding commission chair, serving from 2011 until I was elected chair.
There’s an important subtlety here, that relates to a ballot issue. One of the laws passed by the 2015 legislature would have prohibited us from filing the Deutsch and Westra seats, and forfeited those seats to the Democrats. The law was referred. Hopefully we will kill it at the ballot box, we had it killed once in the House floor.
The Democrat placeholders are historically of no consequence, other than entertainment to read (see this post). But, Republicans have more real candidates and are more likely to be hurt by the inability to replace a candidate.
Just for the sake of accuracy, here’s a small change in your list, Pat… Dist. 5, David Johnson is actually a placeholder in the Senate race, not House.
Thanks for the note. You get those lists in front of you, and they sometimes blur together.