Author: @SoDakCampaigns

I can almost hear the harrumphs from here.

Political reporters Joe Sneve from the Argus Leader and Austin Goss of Dakota News Now put on a roundtable with outgoing Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch and House Appropriations Chair Chris Karr in what was largely a rebuttal of Governor Kristi Noem’s criticisms of how the House handled the budget process this year, as well as the legislation that which may have them coming back to Pierre again and again to authorize expenditures of federal funds.

There’s no embed code, but you can click here, or on the image to watch the video on facebook.

We did find out that Karr is planning on running again for the House, but with a little more than 2 weeks to go until the deadline, Gosch won’t commit to running for the House, or whether he’s going to attempt to run for the State Senate.

Give it a watch for yourself, and let us know what you think.

During my first State of the State address, I announced I wanted South Dakota to lead the nation, raising the bar in everything we do. We immediately got to work on that, earning big wins like Constitutional Carry and the Second Century Initiative to grow pheasant and wildlife habitat. Now, South Dakota will raise the bar in economic development.

Earlier this month, Site Selection magazine released the rankings for its 2021 Governor’s Cup. Site Selection presents this award to the states with the most business development projects in a calendar year.

The result from those rankings sends a clear message: South Dakota competes with some of the largest states in the nation for big business projects. Our state ranked second overall for per-capita projects, with Kansas narrowly claiming the Cup.

But that is not the big news.

From 2019 to 2021, our ranking jumped from 37^th to 2^nd in projects per capita. The 2021 criteria focused on projects with an investment of $1 million or more. The total investment in South Dakota — just counting eligible Site Selection projects — amounted to an astounding $1.2 billion, adding 2.8 million square feet of production space and an expected increase of 2,600 jobs around the state.

Some of those projects have North Sioux City’s metro area and Sioux Falls claiming the number 1 and 2 spots in Site Selection’s metropolitan-area rankings, respectively, for per-capita projects.

Our “Open for Business” message has captured the attention of big companies around the country and driven this phenomenal growth. The Site Selection data understates the total tangible business growth in South Dakota—my Office of Economic Development in 2021 facilitated $1.7 billion in total investment, for an overall increase of 3,700 jobs around the state.

The path I chose for South Dakota during the pandemic attracted businesses to our state. But we also are a business-friendly, low-tax, affordable state to start and own a business. We have worked for years to develop a business climate that is welcoming to innovators and industry leaders.

We brought in the Aesir Technology battery manufacturing facility in Rapid City, which Site Selection highlighted in their 2021 analysis. This project will add 400 skilled jobs for producing the batteries that service data centers and 5G cell phone networks.

Amazon’s new fulfillment center in Sioux Falls adds 3 million square feet of factory floor, welcoming 1,000 new full-time jobs this year. CJ Foods, which specializes in producing Asian food, will build a state-of-the-art facility – the largest of its kind – in Sioux Falls. The project is estimated to be $500 million in construction for a new 700,000 square-foot building with 600 new jobs by 2025.

But companies did not only invest in our big cities. We saw new developments in Canton, Belle Fourche, and other smaller communities around the state.

We have come a long way in the last three years.  From our business development growth to expanding high-speed internet statewide, we have ushered in a new era of innovation. And we show no signs of slowing down.

Just this week, the legislature overwhelmingly approved my recommendation to fund a $30 million investment in the cyber research program at Dakota State University. This investment will help double the number of students who will graduate with the skills to land six-figure jobs out of college.

South Dakota: the state for business today, tomorrow, and into the future.

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Huge post here as the state legislative races have largely shaped up.. but could be subject to some shifting and jostling as we found out in Brookings yesterday with the withdrawal of VJ Smith and entrance of Tim Reed into the D7 State Senate race.

Make no mistake, there are changes coming and some shifting around the margins. But 90% of the races are well into launch sequence.

So, what should you look for?  Here’s my scorecard as we start a mad sprint to March 29th.  I’m counting 19 House Primaries, and 11 Senate primaries as of today. And that’s a VERY fluid number. I’d look for it to grow as opposed to shrinking.

And here’s what I have for legislative races – Part 1:

District 1

Senate:

Michael Rohl (R)
Unknown (D)?

House: 

Logan Manhart (R)
Tamara St. John (R)
And mmaaybe Jennifer Keintz (D)?

Is this the same District 1 that I remember? Used to be that we could not get a Republican elected there to save our lives until Tamara St. John and Michael Rohl. Now, so far in 2022, No Democrat has stepped forward against the two very strong Republicans, and the existing Dem Jennifer Keintz is rumored to not be running.

District 2

Senate:

Spencer Wrightsman (R)
Steve Kolbeck (R)

House:

Dan Sjaarda (R)
Jacob Schoenbeck (R)
David Kull (R)
Jeff Shawd (R)
Gary Leighton (D)

And here we have our first two Legislative primary races, and they will both be contests. Young Republican and Minnehaha GOP Activist Spencer Wrightsman versus former PUC Commissioner and Brandon City Councilman Steve Kolbeck for the Senate. And a plethora of candidates for the House. Former police chief and current council member David Kull and the politically experienced Jake Schoenbeck are the early favorites, but lots of time between now and June 7th.

District 3

Senate:

Al Novstrup (R)
Rachel Dix (R)

House:

Kaleb Weis (R)
Carl Perry (R)
Rick Rylance (R)
Brandei Schaefbauer (R)

Again, 2 more primaries. Long-time legislator Al Novstrup is being challenged by newcomer Rachel Dix. What’s interesting is that Rachel is receiving support from factions of the local GOP organization, and has a number of business connections as the local homebuilders director.  Al very well may have his hands full, as this is expected to be a battle.

4 people in the House primary, and I believe more to come. Weis and Perry are the incumbents, but aren’t necessarily viewed as strong retail campaigners. And into the race came former Dacotah bank executive Rick Rylance who is viewed as the 800lb gorilla with his community connections and ability to fundraise. Brandei Schaefbauer is a new entrant into the race, seemingly with a hard-right and anti-vax agenda, if you look at her twitter account.  I’d watch for this race to possibly grow another candidate or two.

District 4

Senate:

John Wiik (R)

House:

Fred Deutsch (R)
Adam Grimm (R)
Val Rausch (R)
Stephanie Sauder (R)

District 4 Senate might not even see a challenge for John Wiik, who has been a stable influence in the Senate.  He might pick up a dem, but I would be equally unsurprised if he doesn’t, and gets a bye this election.   The House provides us yet another packed primary.  Fred Deutsch is the at times controversial  incumbent, but he is the incumbent in this 4-way contest. Former House Speaker Val Rausch is running to return. And we also have the owner of the Hamlin County newspaper, Stephanie Sauder. I’d expect all three to run strong. Conservative artist Adam Grimm is also part of the pack.

District 5

Senate:

Lee Schoenbeck (R)

House:

Hugh Bartels (R)
Byron Callies (R)
Kahden Mooney (D)

First there was going to be a Republican primary in the House, but after filing papers, and a lot of smack talk, Lucas Kobat proved to be a lot of smoke, and went away.  There could be a primary in the Senate, as some of the antivaxxers and others would like to challenge Lee Schoenbeck, and they can try, but he’d view it as a happy opportunity to campaign more.

District 6

Senate:

Herman Otten (R)

House:

Aaron Aylward (R)
Ernie Otten (R)

I’m told there might be more entering the House race, but D6 is pretty quiet at the moment. Talk to me in 2 weeks.

District 7

Senate:

Tim Reed (R)
Julie Erickson (R)?

House:

Mellissa Heerman (R)
Matt Doyle (R)
Doug Post (R)

District 7 got crazy overnight. VJ Smith left the Senate Race, and House member Tim Reed jumped in. Then, I’m told a Julie Erickson, who I never heard of, has petitions out for Senate as well.  We’ll see if they come in, but this is a name ID race, and the former Mayor and House member is going to win this.  In the House, Mellissa Heerman from the School Board is the strongest contender for one of the two seats, followed by former State Rep Doug Post and Matt Doyle. I have heard another might jump in, a heavy hitter.

So, add 2 more primary elections to the total.

District 8

Senate:

Casey Crabtree (R)

House:

John Mills (R)
Marli Wiese (R)
Tim Reisch (R)

Crabtree resides in a safe seat, which just got safer as he added Kingsbury county – his hometown – to his district in redistricting.  And that House race went from boring to a hard fight over the course of the last week. Mills and Wiese were sure to be the candidates until former Sheriff, former Adjutant General, and former Corrections Secretary Tim Reisch was motivated to get in the race.  He will be running with intent.

District 9

Senate:

Mark Willadsen (R)
Brent Hoffman (R)
and maybe Rhonda Milstead (R)..?

House:

Bethany Soye (R)
Jesse Fonkert (R)

District 9 brings us another Senate Primary with House member Mark Willadsen running, former Iowa now South Dakota politico Brent Hoffman in the Senate race. And no one really knows what Rhonda Milstead is doing, but it’s expected she could be a third entrant into the contest. Right now incumbent House member Bethany Soye is being joined by Hartford development executive Jesse Fonkert in the House race. No primary there. Yet..

District 10

Senate:

Maggie Sutton (R)
Liz Larson (D)

House:

Erin Healy (D)
Kameron Nelson (D)
R’s yet to be determined

D10 will have one of the big Senate battles for the fall between Maggie Sutton and Liz Larson in what may prove to be a tough district for the GOP. Right now in the House, Incumbent Dem Erin Healy and newbie Dem Kameron Nelson are the only ones running as of today, but the GOP is not likely to give them a bye.

District 11

Senate:

Jim Stalzer (R)
Sheryl Johnson (D)

House: 

Chris Karr (R)
Brian Mulder (R)
Tyler Bonynge (R)
Roger Russell (R)

I’m guessing Sheryl Johnson will be easily dispatched by the GOP, again. No Dems in the House race, but an ever growing field, with House Appropriations Chair Chris Karr as the incumbent. I’d watch to see how big the donations are in this race get after the ending of this disastrous legislative session, where House Approps spent most of their time killing major economic development projects.

District 12

Senate:

Arch Beal (R)
Jessica Myers (D)

House: 

Cole Heisey (R)
Greg Jamison (R)
Gary BA Schuster (R)
Amber Arlint (R)
Kerry Loudenslager (R)
Erin Royer (D)

Arch Beal moves over to the Senate, and while there were rumors of a possible primary, they haven’t filed anything yet, so his race will be into the fall. Jessica Myers might try to give it a spirited run, but Arch Beal will swamp her with signs and advertising she can’t keep pace with.

And as for the House, who isn’t running?  Incumbent Greg Jamison is the early favorite, and I’d give the advantage to Amber Arlint, an insurance agent who comes from the “Stern Oil” Sterns.  Young Republican and 2020 D15 Candidate Cole Heisey may find himself challenged by his time spent helping the Proud Boys with their rally after the last election, as well as some statements he’s made regarding women.  Otherwise, the big chore for any challenger in this race will be to pull away from the pack.

District 13

Senate:

Jack Kolbeck (R)

House: 

Sue Peterson (R)
Richard Thomason (R)
Penny BayBridge (R)
Tony Venhuizen (R)

Here’s another case of boring Senate race (at the moment), and crazy House Primary.  Jack Kolbeck might be able to rest comfortably until he has to return to Pierre. For House members, Sue Peterson and Richard Thomason, they find themselves thrown into what might be the most competitive House primary in South Dakota as it is joined by Penny BayBridge, who nobody knows, except they say she wears a “Liberty” t-shirt up at session.

There’s also former Gubernatorial Chief of Staff, Regent, and attorney Tony Venhuizen. Tony brings a wealth of political experience to the race. And in terms of political and business connections, it doesn’t hurt when your father-in-law is former Governor Dennis Daugaard.

I can’t even fathom to pick the two who will come out of this. Except, probably not Penny.

District 14

Senate:

Larry Zikmund (R)
Matt Tysdal (D)

House: 

Taylor Rehfeldt (R)
Tyler Tordsen (R)
Gina Schiferl (R)
Wendy Jo Mamer (D)
Mike Huber (D)

Democrat Attorney Matt Tysdal is challenging Larry Zikmund, who should remain strong in the race. As for the House, another day, another primary.  Incumbent Taylor Rehfeldt and Tyler Tordsen are two extremely strong contenders. Newcomer Gina Schiferl is said to be a candidate coming from the Prairie Ripple group’s coterie of candidates. I just don’t see any scenario where it’s going to be anyone other than Taylor & Tyler emerging from the contest.  And the Democrats will be smoked like a kielbasa in the fall.

District 15

Senate:

Reynold Nesiba (D)
Dane Wagner (R)
Matt Rosburg (R)
Alan Spencer (R)

House: 

Linda Duba (D)
Kadyn Wittmann (D)
Joni Tschetter (R)

Here’s a crazy scenario. District 15, which has been Republican No man’s land for decades has a Senate Primary brewing. Dane Wagner, Matt Rosburg and Alan Spencer are said to be competing to run against Reynold Nesiba in the fall. Rosburg gave the House primary a run last year, so he has that experience under his belt. But Spencer has emerged as a strong business-connected candidate. A primary will be a good thing here for the Republican who emerges from the contest.

In the House, Republican Joni Tschetter has filed campaign committee paperwork in the last couple of days to run. If it’s the Joni I believe it is, she’s a nice lady. Also have word of a heavy hitter in the non-profit world running an an indy, but the name isn’t filed yet, so I’ll keep it to myself.  The GOP or the Indy could pick up one of the seats, diminishing Democrats by yet another seat.

And we will pause it here, and break up the text a bit, as I work on part two.

The citizens of Philip, South Dakota are on the record today on Fox News expressing their extreme dislike for the president and his policies that killed the Keystone XL pipeline:

“Biden and his administration ran on Build Back Better, and, that is, from where I’m standing, a load of crap,” West Central Electric Cooperative CEO Jeff Birkeland told Fox News. “I think his new slogan should be ‘butchering booming business.'”

Read it all here.

Now that the main run of session is over, except for the vetoes, the State House of Representatives has finally made a decision on whether or not grounds exist for impeachment of the South Dakota Attorney General.

Except that decision was to tell the Governor to quit picking on them.

However, House Speaker Spencer Gosch, the Glenham Republican who’s presided over the months-long process of vetting the attorney general’s conduct related to a fatal crash in September 2020, said no decision has yet been made by the committee about any such recommendations.

And..

And Gosch said Thursday a cease and desist order will be issued in the coming days in an attempt to compel the Noem administration to stop making public statements and press releases related to Boever’s death and the attorney general.

Read it here.

So the biggest decision they’ve made is to try to squelch the Governor’s freedom of speech to pressure them to figure out what they’re doing?

When I asked yesterday if we will “know if there is sufficient evidence to move forward with impeachment before the parties select candidates?” I thought I was being facetious.

Apparently it might not have been an entirely flippant question.

REED SEEKS ELECTION TO DISTRICT 7 SENATE SEAT

Tim Reed announced today his intention to seek election to the South Dakota Senate in Legislative District 7.

Senator V.J. Smith has withdrawn his candidacy for the District 7 Senate seat. The District was well served by Senator Smith. Reed commented: “V.J. was a great legislative partner, he was proud of Brookings and advocated for the citizens of South Dakota every day, I will miss working with him.”

Reed stated: “It has been an honor to serve District 7 in the South Dakota House of Representatives. I want to continue advocating for the citizens of District 7 as a member of the State Senate. I will continue my work to positively affect policies for all citizens of South Dakota.”

Representative Reed is completing his third term in the House of Representatives. During those six years he has served on multiple standing committees including Judiciary, Taxation, Energy and Commerce, and Local Government.

Reed is a member of the Drug Court Advisory Council. He also serves on the Criminal Justice System Response to Mental Health Oversight Council for the Unified Judicial System. In 2019, he was appointed to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Legislative Advisory Committee. Over the past two years Tim has served as the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment.

Reed represents South Dakota on the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board and is currently serving as the Vice President. The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board works with members of the business community, state legislatures, and tax administrators to simplify and modernize the sales and use tax systems throughout the country to help make the collection of remote taxes as simple and burden-free as possible, while at the same time protecting state sovereignty.

Read commented: “During the past six years in the legislature I’ve been able to effectively serve District 7 and South Dakota through pragmatic legislative activity and serving on governing boards, study committees, task forces, and advisory committees.”

Representative Reed was active with city and county government, South Dakota State University, economic development, mental healthcare, sex trafficking, and sexual assault victim assistance bills. He sponsored and successfully passed bills modifying courtroom practices to help child victims face their abuser, allowing school, city and county governing boards to go into executive session to discuss security plans, funding for a bio-products institute at the Research Park at SDSU, and publishing public notices on the internet.

Reed, a Republican, has served District 7 for six legislative sessions. Before serving in the legislature, he served in Brookings City Government for 13 years including three terms as Mayor. He is a graduate of SDSU with a degree in Commercial Economics. After graduation, Tim worked in Supply Chain Planning, Information Technology, and College Development. Tim currently serves as the CEO for the Brookings Economic Development Company.

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State Senator Jessica Castleberry Announces Re-Election Bid

District 35 Senator seeking another term, committed to lowering taxes, protecting quality education based on the Constitution, gun rights, and the unborn

Jessica Castleberry of District 35 (Rapid Valley, Box Elder, and northeastern Rapid City) has announced her intention to seek re-election for the South Dakota State Senate.

In 2020-2022 Jessica tackled many subjects that affect quality of life and protect South Dakotans. She not only served on the Senate Taxation Committee, voting against several tax increases, she also prime sponsored HB 1039, the Grassland Tax Relief Bill to help ranchers, and HB 1253 to provide an assessment freeze on property taxes for the elderly and disabled.

Jessica took on quality education as the prime Senate sponsor for HB 1012, a bill to protect students and teachers in our institutions of higher education from being forced to endorse the divisive concepts behind Critical Race Theory. Jessica is dedicated to fighting for freedom and the Constitution. Speaking with Epoch Times, in an article covered in 27 countries, Jessica said, “It is very easy to live in a free country and decide you want to be a Communist. It is impossible to live in a Communist country and decide you want to be free.”

Serving as the Senate vice-chair of Transportation, Jessica secured $20 million to rehabilitate the railroad from Fort Pierre to Rapid City, which helped South Dakota leverage $64 million more in funding to support our rail line and economy. Also vice-chair of Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Jessica played a significant role in securing funding for the Liberty Center which will directly support the B21 mission at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Upholding the Second Amendment to protect our freedom is paramount to Jessica; she promoted over a dozen bills to protect law-abiding gun owners, prime sponsoring four. There were also several efforts to protect the vulnerable, abused, and unborn, prime sponsoring legislation to prohibit threats of coercion of abortion and to provide information to grieving families regarding perinatal hospice, among several other potentially life-saving pieces of legislation.

Jessica has volunteered, donated, and participated in dozens of community events. Whether in a parade, at a festival, or attending meetings and fundraisers, Jessica is involved and available to the community. A lifetime resident of Rapid City, Jessica is an award-winning business owner. She was awarded SD CEO’s Young Enterprising Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016 and the Small Business Administration’s South Dakota Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award in 2018. She’s a graduate of Leadership Rapid City, Leadership South Dakota, and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. In addition, Jessica was the only legislator in South Dakota selected for three national leadership programs in 2021, the National Council of State Legislatures Emerging Leader Program, the Leadership Institute, and the State Emerging Legislative Leaders Foundation Program.

Jessica believes in her oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and of South Dakota, fiscal responsibility, limited government, our right to protect ourselves as citizens of the United States, and the rights of all Americans to pursue happiness. She feels we can rise above ugly politics and do what’s best for our state through decorum, honesty, skilled and passionate debate, and hard work. Jessica has been proud for the opportunity to represent District 35 in the South Dakota Senate and looks forward to facing new challenges ahead with conviction and grit.

Gov. Noem Signs Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Yesterday, Governor Kristi Noem signed 23 bills into law:

• HB 1016 makes an appropriation for costs related to disasters.
• HB 1017 makes an appropriation for costs related to suppression of wildfires in the state.
• HB 1020 authorizes the Bureau of Administration to construct an addition to the Kinsman Building in Pierre and makes an appropriation therefor.
• HB 1021 authorizes the Board of Regents to acquire property, contract for the design and construction of an athletics events center at Dakota State University and makes an appropriation therefor.
• HB 1022 authorizes the Board of Regents to contract for the design and renovation of, and construction of an addition to, the Stanley J. Marshall Center at South Dakota State University and makes an appropriation therefor.
• HB 1023 authorizes the Board of Regents to demolish a South Dakota State University building and makes an appropriation therefor.
• HB 1024 revises and repeals certain provisions regarding self-support tuition rates at off-campus locations governed by the Board of Regents.
• HB 1030 makes an appropriation to reimburse certain health care professionals who have complied with the requirements for certain health care recruitment assistance programs.
• HB 1034 makes an appropriation from the coordinated natural resources conservation fund to the State Conservation Commission.
• HB 1086 provides for the redistribution of donated prescription drugs and medical supplies.
• HB 1110 revises a provision related to the appointment of a guardian ad litem or a special advocate to represent an abused or neglected child.
• HB 1115 allows succession to real property by an affidavit.
• HB 1120 includes carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide capture companies in certain provisions regarding pipeline taxation.
• HB 1121 revises certain provisions related to advanced life support personnel.
• HB 1155 revises the compensation for a township board member overseer.
• HB 1177 establishes provisions regarding ejection of persons from certain lodging establishments and recreational vehicle facilities.
• HB 1196 designates the traditional flute as the official indigenous musical instrument of South Dakota.
• HB 1197 includes certain costs as project costs for tax increment financing districts.
• HB 1282 allows inpatient psychiatric facility placement alternatives for certain patients.
• HB 1283 requires the posting of laws regarding hospital, nursing facility, and assisted living center visitation.
• HB 1285 creates a critical care endorsement for emergency medical technician-paramedics.
• HB 1292 regulates delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, THC-O acetate, and hexahydrocannabinol for those under the age of twenty-one.
• HB 1308 provides for the payment of signing bonuses to school district staff members.

Governor Noem has signed 125 bills into law and vetoed one this legislative session.

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While the State House of Representatives is having an issue with considering the Governor’s initiatives, the Secretary of State’s office is apparently moving things through for our State’s Chief Executive, as Governor Noem’s petitions are the first that have been certified for the election ballot.

You don’t see Jamie Smith or Steve Haugaard as filed and certified for the ballot, and it’s a testament to the level of commitment of her campaign staff and volunteers that she’s the first one out of the gate.

Currently, no other statewide elected candidates have their petitions certified, although I’m sure we’ll see at least a couple more in the coming days.

Lost amongst the din of the current battles going on within the legislature, much of it caused by House Appropriations, is another House Committee, albeit one which has met sparingly over the course of session.

The House Select Committee on Investigation was formed to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist to move forward with an impeachment motion against the Attorney General for the circumstances surrounding the traffic accident in which a man was killed.

After Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch declared back in February 2021 –  a full year ago – that “It is crucial that we create an open, transparent, and fair process for all parties involved,”  to the general public, the process has been anything but.

With battles over the secrecy of who even voted for the special session, as well as executive session, after executive session, after executive session, it seems at most times that we’re not sure they’re going to move forward with any public decision, much less provide an open and transparent process during the 2022 legislative session.

In fact, based on what has happened to date, it seems like this process might just drag out through the party convention/nomination process itself.

In the meantime, the GOP appears to most definitely have activity in the race for Attorney General.

Former Attorney General Marty Jackley has been actively running for the office, announcing for the race in the Spring of 2021, and aggressively pursuing it. SInce then, Jackley has secured the endorsements of at least 59 State’s Attorneys, 63 Sheriffs, and has raised hundreds of thousands in campaign donations.

And in case you forgot, the Attorney General and Governor Noem put to rest any rumors of remaining rivalry over the 2018 election with mutual endorsements in the 2022 election.

But lest you think there isn’t a race at this point, put those notions away. Because by all appearances, while no official announcement has been made, there is very much an active campaign either on the part of the current Attorney General, Jason Ravnsborg, or on his behalf, with an eye to his re-election.

For months, while not always choosing to headline, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has been an active participant in many Republican events, speaking at the 2021 Young Republican Convention, and participating in this years’ Republican Day at the Capitol. Ravnsborg was also in attendance at a Trump Rally in Texas, where he received a shout-out from the podium by former President Trump.

And there has also been a concerted effort to place delegates favorable to the former Attorney General into the Republican Convention Nomination process which will take place this June.

Nebraska-based website “Dakota Free Press” noted in January that Ravnsborg was spotted meeting in Brookings “reviewing the South Dakota Republican Party bylaws and talking about county central committees, delegates, precincts, and open seats.”  There have also been reports that members of the Patriot Ripple Effect group based out of Sioux Falls (with members in Brookings), have been actively working efforts to install Ravnsborg-friendly delegates in a stealth effort to prepare for his official entrance into the race.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg himself is remaining mum at the moment on any official announcement, which may be part of his legal strategy to rebuff efforts at the impeachment.

Given the pace with which the House of Representatives is conducting their investigation, versus the dwindling number of days until the Republican Convention (107 as of today), the strategy may be to run the clock down, and swoop in with a concerted effort to capture the nomination.

So far, that speculation doesn’t seem all that crazy.