There’s a couple of examples of an interesting phenomena occurring along the campaign trail this year in the run up to the general election. in at least two instances, there are independent candidates who are not actively touting their independence, but rather doing their darnedest to try to be Republican without actually running as a Republican.
I had touched on the team up of District 35 Independent State Senate Candidate Brian Gentry, who seems to be running one of this fall’s weirdest campaigns, and defeated primary candidate/one of Pennington County’s Most Wanted, Kevin Quick early last month:
Since that July 6 post, It’s not just Quick claiming a team up. Gentry recently reiterated their scheme in an interview with South Dakota Public Broadcasting which whipsaws between a robotically read and inauthentic script, to just plain weirdness.
SDPB: “Tell a little bit about… Why Independent, for example.. Why not align with one of the political parties?”
Gentry: “I was born and raised.. uh been a Republican my entire life.. understand the Re-bib-lican platform. Understand what it means. Definitely wanted to protect the seat in this particular instance. There was another candidate running at the same time I was. And we wanted to protect the seat to make sure we put the right person in that chair.”
“As you mentioned at the beginning of this call, Lynne DiSanto, Former Legislator did.. ah.. did recommend me for this position late last year.. for whatever reason.. whatever the case may have been at that point.. I was not put in at position as an appointee. So, at this point I just wanted to secure the seat. Make sure that the right person was put in there, and allow the person before me to go.. to go on through the process that she was a little further long than I was.”
“So, definitely showed some integrity there, but definitely wanted to make sure we secured the seat properly.”
Listen to the entire interview here.
Why do Gentry and Quick seem to assert some weird property right on a state legislative seat? I hate to ask, but who does Gentry consider the plural “we,” in the part where he says “to make sure we put the right person in that chair?”
Because when I checked, no one owns a legislative seat. And these two ding-dongs might want to consider that there has been one group who spoke quite definitively about who “the right person was to put in the chair:”
(From Ballotpedia.) The Republican voters of District 35 pondered the question, and voted on nearly a 3 to 1 basis that the right person to put in the chair was current State Senator Jessica Castleberry. That’s a pretty definitive voice speaking loudly. Regardless of Quick or Gentry claiming some ownership right.
If you agree with the Republican Voters in District 35 that Jessica Castleberry is the right person to put in that chair, I’d encourage you to go over to Jessica’s website and support her candidacy.
You sir are scared and you have great reason to be. Lifelong Independent changes to republican and a life long CONSERVATIVE switches to Independent. In this state liberals can’t win so they run as republican to get a seat. We call those folks R.I.N.O’s. As a result we have a bullshit party that isn’t what it claims to be and conservative are fed up and looking for a new home in response. Jessica is a R.I.N.O. and she is also the govenors puppet with one intent. To do the govenors bidding. Mr Gentry has a great shot at winning this because of the current political climate and its just a prelude to whats to come in the coming elections. WE ARE FED UP WITH THE UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR AT TYE CAPITAL, and we want people doing the job that has a backbone and ethics, instead of a person appointed to complete an agenda. One only has to look at the money being spent by this person to understand exactly whats going on. Then go look at who donated that money and who is envolved with the PAC that is spending a lot of money to achieve the same agenda. A lot of BIG names spending a ton of money in districts they are hundreds of miles from. The fact that a felon ran against her says a metric ton about her and the climate in pennington County. The fact that over 500 people voted for him says much more. Your afraid the gig is up and you’re correct. You and the folks like you are on a borrowed dime.
Kevin, she handily kicked your butt from one end of the District to the other.
Most Republicans who competed in the primary will support their opponent in the general. But you’re actively working at being a sore loser.
Wow, sounds like somebody has a bit of an ax to grind.
Gentry has no more of a chance of winning than Trump has of winning in New Yawk.
Does Quick seriously think that people look to him to tell them how to vote? The guy should have known he didn’t have a chance with his background, but he launched an ill-fated campaign anyway. It doesn’t show any guts, it shows no brains.
Pretty angry dude posting there, who’s in disagreement with 72% of the REPUBLICANS voting in that district. If Republicans get to define who they are, then District 35 said Senator Castleberry is their rock solid Republican.
Now in Moscow, guys like the angry dude get to pick who “our” people are. But not in South Dakota
He’s pretty angry because he just got his butt kicked in the D35 Senate Primary.
Where do you get 72%?ohh. You must be speaking of the primary. Against a felon. Its gonna be a lot different against a clean conservative. Absolutely no doubt the district voted for the less of two evils. Its going to be a lot different in the next race I don’t care how much money the elite politicians throw against it. These appointments and the last session opened eyes. WE SEE YOU!!
Oh, since you used all caps I REALLY understand your point now.
Bizarre indeed. Not everyday you see a lifelong left leaning Independent run as a republican and a lifelong republican run as Independent. Sounds to me like this is the race to watch in 2020. Thank you!
Anyone listen to the interview and how he answered questions? Might as well be
Brian what time is it?
Brian responds: Time is very important. We have to show leadership in how we respect time and knowing it is very limited. Using time properly to be prosperous and respecting rights along with…….
This guy never answers questions and just goes on with platitudes or whatever. Complete waste of time for voters.
Anony 7:54 you are spot on with your analysis. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. Clearly a person who has taken talking points from about 10 different sources and mashed them together to create ….. I don’t know what he created.
Misogyny, hatred and stupidity abound with this duo and their few supporters.
Know the tree(s) by the fruit it bears. No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Similarly, hateful trees produce hateful fruit, stupid trees produce stupid fruit.. Dishonest trees produce dishonest fruit… Now I’m annoyed and hungry.
The perfect NASD PAC endorsed candidates
Kevin Quick does not write or speak well. I don’t know that he will cause anyone to take Gentry seriously.