This might be one of the absolutely dumbest complaints coming from candidates sure to lose that I’ve ever heard:
Independent candidate for U.S. Senate Brian Bengs and Democratic U.S. House candidate Nikki Gronli criticized the optics of a bus tour launched by their Republican opponents.
and..
Jackley said they were treating the midterms like any other election.
“We’re all of the same mindset,” Jackley, who is currently South Dakota’s attorney general, said. “We treat like every race like we’re five points down.”
and..
Card told KOTA Territory News in an Oct. 27 interview that the last-minute campaign pitch is more likely a way to encourage Republican enthusiasm in other South Dakota contests, such as the closely contested secretary of state race, as well as legislative races.
Wasn’t this the same Nikki Gronli who went on her own tour months before her own campaign began? A word of advice to “Three-shell Gronli,” Many people aren’t paying attention to the elections until the last few weeks, and it has been so this year more than most. So, their tour makes a lot more sense than the one she did in 2025. If either Nikki had been paying attention, or if Dem-Independent Bengs had actually lived in South Dakota at the time, Republican candidates and office holders have been doing this kind of “bus tour” for years.
Such as this Noem/Thune bus tour in 2010…
Like a bus carrying rock stars on tour, the campaign bus carrying congressional candidate Kristi Noem and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was greeted by a crowd of fans Friday night in Mitchell.
Noem also had one in 2018..
Congresswoman Kristi Noem is preparing for one final push in her quest to obtain the Republican nomination for South Dakota Governor. Noem, who is in a tight battle with Attorney General Marty Jackley for that governor nomination, is planning an “All In Tour” that includes stops in eight cities in less than 36 hours starting in Aberdeen on Sunday, June 3.
Poor Jason Glodt with the Rounds team had a camper/bus he drug out for touring around the state darn near every election. I think he finally wore that old campaign war-wagon out as we saw it election after election. In fact, It’s more unusual in Republican circles for there not to be a big GOTV campaign tour towards the end to rally the troops.
At the end of the day, this story is a matter of candidates who are 20% and 30% behind complaining when opponents, who were busy working much of the year, are actually out campaigning. And they’re stuck as an afterthought when these statewide officeholders, likely to win once again, are the news story.
Next obvious story up tonight? Water is wet.