Author: Pat Powers

How about that SDSU opinion poll now?

With a margin that is currently 63% to 34% as of this writing, Governor Kristi Noem has absolutely dominated her opponent Jamie Smith in the 2022 gubernatorial race to lead South Dakota for the next four years.

At no point in the evenings returns did Smith even show a glimmer of being competitive as Noem has outpaced him constantly with an ever-widening margin of success.

The strength of her campaign almost seems contrary to the media narrative that has been disseminated over the course of the last several months, trying to paint the race as having a slimmer margin or being more competitive. Even the Smith campaign has been claiming in social media ads all the way through today that the race was within 3 percentage points.

They probably should have moved the decimal point over a place. Because the margin tonight is nearly 30 points not three.

Tonight is a well deserved victory lap for Governor Kristi Noem. She won the race, decisively and definitively.

In one of the three races I have been watching closely tonight, the District 1 State Senate rematch with Michael Rohl versus Susan Wismer.. Despite Wismer unloading a pick up load full of cash into the race in the final 2 weeks, she has gained no traction.

With one precinct left to go, Rohl’s lead is absolutely insurmountable at this point, with him leading in a landslide over Wismer on a 59% to 41% advantage.

Wismer is done, crushed in the race by Michael Rohl.

Gov. Noem to Participate in Hobo Day at SDSU

Wraps Up First Week of RV Tour

BROOKINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, Governor Kristi Noem will participate in Hobo Day at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings. She and dozens of campaign volunteers will march in the Hobo Day parade at 9:30 am. She will then attend SDSU’s game vs. Indiana State at 2pm. SDSU is Governor Noem’s alma mater.

The day in Brookings will wrap up the week for Governor Noem’s RV tour across the state. She kicked off the tour on Wednesday, leaving Pierre for town halls in Spearfish and Deadwood.

On Thursday, Governor Noem held multiple townhalls in Rapid City and visited local businesses like the Millstone, Prairies Edge, and Black Hills Bagels. She ended the night at a high school football game in Wall.

On Friday, Governor Noem held a townhall in Chamberlain before visiting Bad River Jerky and a local art gallery. She then held another townhall in Mitchell, visited Main Street Mercantile, and spent some time on a combine with Senator Josh Klumb. She closed the day in Sioux Falls with a visit to Fair Market and a “thank you” visit to volunteers in the Sioux Falls campaign office.

 The RV tour will continue strong next week! Stay tuned for Governor Noem to visit a community near you.

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KELOLAND pressed Republican Secretary of State candidate Monae Johnson on questions over the conduct of the 2020 election, where some question the legitimacy of the vote in some states.

And this may be something she’ll be asked about again in the remaining weeks..

Falsehoods about the 2020 election persist in 2022, so today I asked each South Dakota secretary of state candidate if they acknowledge that Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. Tom Cool (D) said "absolutely." Monae Johnson (R) declined to acknowledge this: pic.twitter.com/tU9kAPi3FW

— Dan Santella (@KELODanS) October 18, 2022

Kristi for Governor Issues Statement on Government Accountability Board’s Illegal Action

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, in response to the actions taken by the Government Accountability Board (GAB), Kristi for Governor Communications Director Ian Fury issued the following statement:

“The actions taken by the GAB today did not follow state law or precedent. They have yet to point to one single statute the Governor has violated in either of these complaints.

“These complaints are all political and filed by a disgraced former attorney general who literally killed a man, lied about it, and tried to cover it up. Governor Noem was the first to call him out for this, and he filed these complaints in retaliation.

“It is unfortunate the board chose not to bring this charade to an end today. Kassidy Peters did not receive any special treatment, and Governor Noem followed the law, period!”

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Serving South Dakota is my greatest honor, and throughout my time in Congress, I’ve sought out ways to give our state a strong voice in Washington. Democrats control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, and while there have been plenty of policies I’ve disagreed with, I’m proud of the work I’ve been able to accomplish on behalf of all South Dakotans.

With the Senate having just begun its traditional August state work period, I’m excited to have more opportunities to travel across the state to talk to folks about what is on their minds, what has been accomplished the last few months in Washington, and what else is in store for the rest of the year.

One of the most important bills Congress takes up every year is the National Defense Authorization Act. This year’s bill will authorize critical funding to continue preparation for the B-21 mission at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and it will also include my proposal to authorize additional funding for school districts affected by growing missions. I am incredibly proud that South Dakota and Ellsworth were chosen to serve as the first operating base for the B-21. I am committed to ensuring that the base has everything it needs to continue serving as one of our nation’s essential military assets for decades to come, including by ensuring local communities have the resources to help address school and housing capacity needs.

Turning from the air to the sea, at the beginning of the summer, my Ocean Shipping Reform Act received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and it is now the law of the land. This new law will help ease supply chain pressures by addressing unfair ocean carrier practices, speeding up the resolution of disputes over carrier fees, and improving the movement of goods at our nation’s ports. This is especially important for South Dakota producers, who rely on efficient access to markets around the world for their products. It won’t solve our nation’s inflation crisis, but it should help make life easier for U.S. exporters, importers, and consumers alike.

After months of requests, I was pleased that the administration finally agreed to restore the summertime sale of E15 fuel for 2022, which went into effect on June 1. I have long advocated to make permanent the year-round sale of E15, plus higher blends of ethanol, as a way to offer American drivers more affordable and cleaner options at the gas pump and to offset foreign sources of energy. It’s a step in the right direction, and I will continue to call on the Biden administration to leverage American agriculture to help drive down gas prices and support our state’s economy.

As a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, ensuring that our rural communities have a seat at the table remains a top priority for me. Right now, the 2023 farm bill is a big focus of mine. I’ve already begun to hold a series of roundtables to hear from South Dakota farmers and ranchers about what they need from next year’s bill, and I plan to continue introducing proposals that I hope to get included in it. Agriculture is the lifeblood of the South Dakota economy, and I will do everything I can to make sure that our farmers and ranchers have the resources they need to help feed our country.

As always, fighting for South Dakota is my number-one priority. I’m focused on the same principles and priorities that have always guided me: working hard, fighting for what matters, and listening to my top advisers – you, the people of South Dakota. I look forward to catching up with folks this month, and if we cross paths, please be sure to say hello. In the meantime, if you have questions about how I can help you, or if you have an idea or feedback about something I’m working on, please don’t hesitate to write, call, or email – I’m all ears.

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This week, the Speaker of the House interrupted the August Work Period in our districts and states, calling all Representatives to vote on the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act”. The $745 billion bill does little to actually reduce inflation – it may just make things even worse. July’s 8.5% inflation report shows a slight cooling of inflationary pressure. Passing this bill could reverse the little bit of progress we have made.

I am voting no on this bill, bringing my opposition of record spending to a total of $10 trillion since President Biden took office. We can’t just keep spending more money, especially when monthly economic reports show continuing inflation and a recession possibly looming. I’m open to some policy ideas in this legislation – for example some of the drug pricing policies are interesting – but the overall price tag is too high, and it was rushed through in the last few weeks.

Fiscal policies should be thoughtful. There should be give and take from both sides, analysis done on the long-term spending impacts, and time to decipher whether or not taxes on the middle class would go up.

The Inflation Reduction Act:

• Authorizes $80 billion for the IRS
• Spends over $350 billion on environmental policies
• Raises taxes on businesses who are already raising their prices—passing even higher prices onto consumers
• Is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to only reduce inflation by 0.01% at best in 2023
• Raises taxes on Americans in every income bracket
• Will likely increase costs for prescription drugs and health care insurance premiums

Increasing taxes and retail prices for hard-working Americans will only make it harder for families to make ends meet. 94% of South Dakotans are already experiencing inflation. In just about every meeting I take with South Dakotans, they mention how inflation is impacting them, their business, their family, or their community.

I have opposed spending package after spending package pushed by Speaker Pelosi and President Biden that have consistently driven up inflation, increased prices on goods, services, energy, and everything in between. Spending more money now will continue to kick the can down the road—causing almost everyone to deal with the impacts of inflation for much longer.

I am focused on solving our supply chain crisis, increasing our energy independence, and supporting our small businesses to mitigate the impact of inflation on American consumers and business owners. We need to pass commonsense, realistic solutions that will actually work. Policies that bring down high prices in the grocery store and at the gas pump, get Americans back to work, and strengthen our economy.

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Having seven kids, I’ve heard a lot of whoppers before, but this might be the biggest one ever.

At off-the-wall website Dakota Leader, where they worship Steve Haugaard, and promote Tina Mulally as a great leader, website author Breeanaugh Sagdahl has a video interview where the latest crazy-talk is that Kristi Noem didn’t actually keep South Dakota businesses open.

The fish-tale being promoted for your crazy aunt who spends too much time on Facebook is that they claim Kristi fought against keeping South Dakota open, and one of the heroes of keeping the state open was actually Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.  And as a result he ended up on some enemies list and they were gonna get him no matter what.

I’m not sure what to say to all of that. Except that you have to eventually hope that they give up on the primary election at some point.

Record-high inflation is the number-one issue impacting Americans right now. From soaring gas prices to food prices – and just about everything in between – a nearly 41-year high inflation rate is forcing families to dig deeper into their pocketbooks as they try to make ends meet. I continue to hear from folks across the state who tell me about the sacrifices they are making, and it’s abundantly clear that they need some relief.

Unfortunately, instead of pursuing policies that would grow our economy and drive down prices for families and small businesses, Democrats continue to pursue the policies that helped lead to record-high inflation in the first place. Democrats are pursuing their so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” a bill that would do nothing to reduce inflation but would double down on wasteful government spending and impose hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes on American businesses – tax hikes that would result in higher prices for consumers in nearly every income bracket.

Our economy has posted negative economic growth for the past two quarters – the textbook definition of a recession – and Democrats think now is an ideal time to raise taxes on American businesses. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that raising taxes in the middle of a recession is a very, very bad idea. Bottom line, Democrats are failing Economics 101.

Increasing the tax burden on American businesses and consumers doesn’t end there. The Democrats’ bill would also impose a methane fee and a new tax hike on U.S. refiners importing crude oil and petroleum products, which are intended to make conventional energy prohibitively more expensive. Regardless of the wishful thinking Democrats engage in, Americans still need conventional energy – now and into the near future. The Democrats’ energy tax hikes are setting everyday Americans up to continue to suffer under high energy prices for the foreseeable future, as the cost for gas far exceeds the $2.38 price per gallon when President Biden took office.

The Democrats’ bill – that they bizarrely claim is going to lower inflation – happens to be chock-full of radical, Green New Deal-esque policies. There’s billions of dollars for a grant program to plant trees and things like identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage. There are billions of dollars going to purchase heavy-duty electric vehicles like garbage trucks and even more money for the U.S. Postal Service to purchase zero-emission delivery vehicles – to name a few.

Among other egregious policies, there are tax credits for folks who purchase electric vehicles and even more write-offs for refitting windows, skylights, and doors to meet Democrats’ required level of energy efficiency. The icing on the cake, of course, is the fact that the wealthiest Americans in our country are the ones who are purchasing electric vehicles, and Democrats want to give these high-income earners a tax break. This bill is wasteful and irresponsible and would create a lot of economic pain for hardworking Americans and job creators.

The Democrats’ $1.9 trillion spending spree in early 2021 helped plunge our economy into an inflation crisis that has left Americans struggling. If anything, Democrats should have learned that dumping unnecessary dollars into the economy is a recipe for disaster. Their new partisan tax-and-spending spree, unfortunately, tees up even more economic pain for families. As we have seen time and time again, economic common sense is taking a back seat to Democrats’ big-spending, big-government ideology. I will continue to fight back against these radical, out-of-touch policies and focus on solutions that put more money into the pocketbooks of hardworking South Dakotans.

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The 360,000 acres of American land owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is just the start. The CCP is purchasing more and more farmland and has a plan to drastically increase their ownership in the next few years. It’s become a growing concern of mine, and I’m working to put an end to it.

In our global economy, I understand there is a time and place to work internationally on issues. But we cannot give our foreign adversaries – like China – access to our food supply. Food security is national security.

I’m not just worried about our farmland and food supply. Recently, the Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group bought 300 acres of land near Grand Forks, North Dakota, to set up a milling plant. This piece of land is located about 20 minutes from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which is home to some of the nation’s most sensitive military drone technology. This has raised national security concerns because the Fufeng Group’s passive receiving equipment could intercept sensitive drone and space-based communications to and from the base. The communication that happens at Grand Forks AFB is the backbone of all U.S. military communications across the globe. We cannot allow one of our greatest adversaries potential control over our military technology or our food supply.

I am co-leading two bills—the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act and the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act—to prohibit China’s purchase of American farmland and agriculture businesses. Thankfully, these bills are gaining traction in Congress, at least among conservatives.

The PASS Act won’t just prohibit China from purchasing our agriculture businesses, but also blacklists Russia, Iran, North Korea, and those acting on behalf of those countries from taking control of any American ag business.

The last few years our supply chain has seen continuous disruptions – our country can’t afford to let China get a hold of more American business and land.

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