One of the hardest working candidates in South Dakota politics is back at it, as Jordan Youngberg kicks off his campaign for District 25 State Senate, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to find out more why he thought it might be a good idea to run for the privilege of driving to to Pierre starting in January of 2025 if he’s successful in his pursuit of the race.
Youngberg had previously served in the State Legislature from 2017-2020, but when faced with committing to another term of office after that, Jordan paused his political career, as he knew he was not going to run for another term, and decided the best thing to do for his District was to step down to give someone else an opportunity to serve.
Jordan has been a small businessman as long as I’ve known him, doing everything from selling ice cream at his business, to hawking fireworks at his stand, and upon leaving the legislature took a state job with the Treasurer’s office to take care of his growing family. But just like the pull of being a small businessman, which he has returned to, the pull of politics has also been an irresistible force in his life. Which brings us to today, with Jordan fully engaged in the race for the State Senate for District 25, an area he grew up and went to high school in.
But enough introduction… let’s have 5 questions with District 25 State Senate Candidate Jordan Youngberg:
Why are you looking at returning to the legislature?
Serving in the South Dakota legislature was an honor of a lifetime and a responsibility that required maturity, professionalism and a lot of hard work. With the blessing of my wife and boys, I’ve made the decision to run once again for the State Senate because the representation we have right now isn’t getting the job done, and our communities are paying the price for it.
When I served in the Senate, I passed bills to help teachers, keep drugs off the streets, and make government smaller. District 25 deserves a Senator that cares about getting things done for our families and our communities and unfortunately, we’re currently being served by an individual who would rather make headlines for everything but passing legislation or tackling real issues.
It’s expected that you’ll be running against the incumbent Senator Tom Pischke in a primary. Why are you the better choice in the race?
Growing up in District 25 and returning home, I quickly decided that it’s time our communities had a voice in Pierre that wasn’t afraid to work hard and get things done. During the last legislative session, our current Senator failed to pass one piece of legislation or participate in discussions on any of the important issues facing our state.
I think there’s two parts to being a conservative: saying it, and doing it. Unlike our current Senator, who has no plans to bring forth legislation and was quoted as saying, “there was nothing really driving him”, I will bring forward conservative ideas and see them through to completion.
Your likely opponent has been pretty controversial this last session as the only supporter of a senator who harassed an employee, and he demanded the arrest of many of the Senators as a result. Has that affected the kind of support you’re getting? Have you gotten any pushback from people trying to convince you to run for a different office?
I learned early on in my first race for the Senate against a Democrat that it was more important to run for something than against someone. However, I do believe that it’s fair to point out the facts and the differences between my approach and that of my opponent.
My opponent didn’t have a home (wasn’t allowed) in the Republican Caucus for much of the 2023 legislative session. His antics were a distraction in what is a very short legislative session and it’s obvious he would rather advance his personal priorities over putting in the work and advocating for the needs of our District. Instead of working to improve rural education, our agriculture industry, or policies that keep our families safe, my opponent spent his time trying to get fellow Republican colleagues arrested for following the constitution.
This is a slightly reconfigured legislative district since the last time you were there. What do you see as the big issues facing your District?
District 25 is in a unique position of opportunity as Sioux Falls and the greater area continue to expand. We are going to continue to see more jobs, residents, and tax revenue and I want to make sure we’re positioned best take advantage of these opportunities. As exciting as this is, we must continue to focus on and advocate for the conservative ideals that have shaped our community and made it one of the best places in the world to call home.
In addition, we need to continue to prioritize South Dakota farmers, ensure rural school districts like Dell Rapids (GO QUARRIERS!) have the resources they need, and ensure there is enough housing to support both current and future residents. Finally, we must keep focusing on public safety to ensure our cities and small towns remain a safe place to live, work and raise a family.
You’ve aggressively jumped into the race for District 25 State Senate with both feet. Any specifics as to why you’re on the campaign trail 8-9 months before the primary?
Those who know me know that I only have one speed and when I decide to do something, I go all out. Since I announced my intention to run, I’ve been to multiple parades this year and talked with hundreds of District 25 voters. Even in these early conversations, it’s clear so many of these community members know it’s time to send someone to Pierre that will get the real work done and put an end to these sideshows.
And there you have it! 5 Questions with one of our newest Senate Candidates. Thank you, and best of luck to Jordan in his pursuit of the seat.
When Pischke stood up to be counted at the state GOP convention in opposition to the resolution congratulating Thune, Noem, and Johnson on winning their primaries and endorsing them in the general election, I decided if he doesn’t support the top of the ticket he doesn’t deserve any support from the rest of us..
His efforts to pass legislation to get himself out of paying child support have also been embarrassing. (One bill he proposed was to change federal (what?) tax law about which parent can claim the dependent deduction. Another was to prevent the inclusion of income from a second job from being calculated in a support determination.)
The toppings on the pizza were his asinine attempts to have almost all of his fellow senators subjected to criminal charges.
The fact that Jon Hansen has not used his influence in District 25 to get Pischke out of there is also shameful. Maybe if he’d been helpful in that regard he’d now be the Speaker of the House. Leadership begins at home.
Langer is missed and would be a welcome candidate in this race.
What your opinion on youngberg ? Said comments above laid out problems with the current senator but I’m curious as to why Youngberg wouldn’t be good with his previous proven track record? No scandals, no bogus legislation, seemed to work hard in the Senate before. Just curious?
Langer was a solid leader. She’d win if she entered the race.
I am all in for Youngberg. Supported him when he defeated Scott Parsley, who wasn’t a bad guy. This time the stakes are higher.
yes Langer is missed, but if she goes back in she would have to put up with Phil Jensen accusing her of being drunk.
Even intoxicated, Chris has higher functioning brain cells than Phil has when he’s sober. He’s another one who needs to go.
When was the last time Jordan was clean shaven?
Pischke and Youngberg. The battle of the beards.
Godspeed, Jordan!!!
Polarizing elements in the GOP, if left unchallenged, will turn our great state purple and then blue. South Dakota is growing rapidly, not only in population, but in national recognition and influence largely because of of our Governor’s leadership and vision.
We are open for business and we need legislators that will make the decisions necessary to support that growth. Your previous tenure in the Legislature was exemplary. Your answers here above reveal that you recognize the best interests of South Dakotans and we know that you have the skills to actually pass legislation.
Carry on!!!
Ed 💥💥💥
Open for business! Yes! Governor’s leadership and vision! This should seal up your appointment to the castleberry seat. Chief of Staff is still vacant and you have my complete support based on your leadership and vision.
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Thank you Anon, for your hemorrhagic sarcasm.
You can stand down though on the District 35 appointment. I don’t live in District 35.
You see, some of us do have vision and my 20/20 on this reveals that you are where we can always find you….WRONG.
BTW why only 4 bullet holes on this one???
You disappoint.
20/20? Ed are you using the metric system to come up with that number? No conceivable way that’s true. Is that a hindsight only calculation? Are you also 6’3?
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If Pischke loses who will advocate for dads to be free from responsibilities? They want their Freedom!
I wish I could jump on the Pischke hate train as well, but he is one of the legislators that will communicate with constituents. I don’t agree with him on everything, but he fulfills his job duties to represent his constituents. Most of them there seem to be in it for themselves or some other entity other than those they represent.
Pischke is only there trying to get out of paying child support. Everything else is hot air. Now that he has been booted from the caucus, the seat might as well be vacant.
You realize almost nothing happens at the caucus since they are in a super super majority and have divided into sub-groups within the party? Of all the things to place value on, the caucus is near the bottom of my list.
Mr. Pischke is the Mad Dad leader, and he will only get madder.
Pay your child support, Mr Pischke. Then run for the legislatures.
And don’t hang around with the pretty but vacuous ladies. You are a sucker for the pretty ladies, sir, who have no brain.
Hey you neo – nazis Lana Greenfield is running in Beadle County Feast on that
Dakota War College You are more like Grit Not good Vanilla
Anonymous @6:16: GRIT IS GOOD.
As is a man with six kids who doesn’t complain about the cost of supporting them. Mr Powers is to be admired.
I don’t know why divorced men complain about paying the Child Support the court’s order them to pay. It seems very irresponsible to me and I wouldn’t vote for anyone for high office who was a child support delinquent. “If you want to dance, Pay the Piper.”
Terry, I read a scholarly article that looked into why men complain about child support: they can’t control how it is spent.
That being said, the next curiosity is why a parent who has been ordered to pay child support calculated by an objective formula thinks he or she has been treated unfairly.
Sometimes the complaining is coming from the second wife, who sees her husband’s money going to support another woman’s children.
This is one of the reasons polygamy doesn’t work.
The dad has to listen to a lot of complaining from the woman he lives with, which might motivate him to spend all of hunting season out in the woods or all of the legislative session in Pierre, wandering the halls of the Capitol.
Over the years I met a woman who explained she and her husband were struggling because he was paying child support to two ex-wives, a woman who gleefully explained her ex-husband’s second wife was paying her child support after he lost his job, and a young woman who said “I don’t want a guy who already has kids, because I want children of my own.” With young women having figured out the first wife gets child support, the second wife gets a job (third wives get two jobs) these Mad Dads find starting over is more challenging than they expected.
Well to be fair, this concern is kind of foundational to right wing media talking points. If someone receives government assistance for food, they surely should not have a TV, or be able to drink a beer, or have a tattoo. We saw this in the bible as well, when Jesus created all the fish for those people to eat, he made sure they didn’t have a cell phone, this proved they needed the fish. It is a fact, nobody had a cell phone luxury if they received the handout from Jesus.
This is the true Christian way.
Well that was stupid.
anne – re: can’t control how it’s spent – it’s a rare guy who earns divorce #1, who isn’t also a raging control freak to begin with.
enquirer, you are correct: the control freaks are the ones who get ditched.
Then there are the ones who complain they don’t get to see their kids often enough, so they should not have to pay child support.
I wonder if they have similar conversations with the lien holders of the recreational vehicles they use only on long weekends: “It’s not fair to make 12 monthly payments on a camper I used only three times last year!”
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