Congressional loser James Biolata versus Incumbent Brock Greenfield for the office of School and Public Lands:
Greenfield delivered a complete smackdown on Bialota, as delegates wrapped it up with a bow for the incumbent.
This is the first race that could go to multiple rounds, as there needs to be a 50% vote total for the winner, or voting could go to multiple rounds.
The candidates are:
Catherine could pick it up in Round 1, as there are some foundational problems with the other two; Grove coming off. Primary loss, and no one ever having heard of the other two, but we’ll see.
Catherine Barranco pulled it together and posted a better than 50% total on the first ballot. Great win for Catherine!
Melissa Hull certainly had a head of steam coming into the race today, and it was evident from the strong vote:
Haggar wins…
Day 2 has started with a prayer.. which apparently someone decided would be an overly long prayer recorded from TV.
Could they not find a local pastor to bless this mess? Maybe it’s just me, but my local church in Brookings does not come with a scrolling news feed.
We’re off to an interesting start.
—-
A little controversy with people that some of the opponents of democracy tried to boot from their delegate positions. Two were restored after a little debate.
Hopefully we can move the rest of this day forward with little trouble.
—
Once all that folderol was completed, it’s 10:30 am, and we’re back recounting the number of people that each delegations has present. I’m not sure we can get ourselves counted before 11. Assume that it’s a hand count, not a machine count, so it is guaranteed to take twice as long and be inaccurate.
—
Delegate Stu Cvrk accosted me on the convention floor during the counting break crabbing that I’ve written about his stupid in the past. Ironically one of the stupid things he’s demanded of legislators in the past is to defund public broadcasting.
Which, considering the challenges the convention is having in counting, it kind of underlines the importance of public broadcasting. Because it’s evident that some of the delegates really need to watch Sesame Street.
—
As we tally the PUC race, I notice that Rick Weible is insisting on helping to count ballots for the county. That’s not going to place his life at risk again, is it?
—
Seen at convention:
So I rolled into the SDGOP convention this afternoon.
Actually had a nice experience at check in, as the people at the desk were very helpful. And ran into many friends – some I’ve seen recently, some I haven’t seen in more than a year.
But then I went into the voting hall. Where the friendliness evaporated somewhat, and a number of Sergeant of Arms were wandering around. Which left me wondering why do they have all this security pacing back and forth like they’re monitoring the yard at the state prison yard? With this crowd, I think it’s more likely that someone would fall and break a hip then break out into a riot.
One accosted me after I sat and was quietly chatting in the back with a long time friend and colleague, as he slapped his hand on my shoulder, chastising me because I was having a conversation. I pointed out that I was a delegate. Immediately triggering him to question me why was I not sitting with my county? ….Because I just got there?
Why am I being questioned at the convention by the equivalent of a dollar store security guard? What is this version of the convention I walked into?
From there they moved into resolutions. Some completely stupid, and as evidenced by the reaction, at least one unthinkable.
Setting the stage; There was a resolution proposed to attack Senator Thune this week, despite his attempts to bring the SAVE act to a vote. After the convention organizers were done with social media influencer Scott Presler yesterday, some of his followers took what ended up being an unproductive way to express their displeasure:
That kind of message went out to most of the people – if not all of them – on the State Republican Party executive board. Which had the exact opposite effect of what the Presler minions wanted.
Because they served to make a lot of people mad.
And when the anti-Thune resolution came to a vote, it went down hard. It was a welcome flash of unity at a convention where the party has generally been divided.
Divided to the point where the convention organizers feel they need have Sergeants of Arms circling the crowd like deputies circling the beer garden at a street dance.
We’ll see how tomorrow goes.
From South Dakota Searchlight, it appears that the SDGOP Chair was not only denying entry to influencers last night, but to credentialed South Dakota media:
At the event, Searchlight showed several party officials the email confirming permission to attend, and spoke with Wagner and other party officials and officeholders. Several said they were having problems with other people who registered as media but weren’t from what the state party considers legitimate outlets.
Wagner apologized to Searchlight and said, “I didn’t realize that they weren’t going to allow press tonight.” Wagner said it was the decision of “the chairman,” a reference to State Party Chairman Jim Eschenbaum.
Eschenbaum did not immediately respond to a text message Thursday night from Searchlight.
and..
Searchlight asked Wagner if journalists will be allowed to attend those speeches.
“I don’t know what his decision on that is,” Wagner said, referring to Eschenbaum. “It’s a possibility that we will. You might want to check tomorrow.”
So, who exactly are they going to let in to the convention?
Sounds like it was a bad night for influencers at the Republican Convention in Rapid City.
And exactly how many Sergeant at Arms do they have to have if they have a lead Sergeant at Arms?
According to the convention rules,
No person shall be nominated or elected for public office or party office unless that person gave written notice of his or her intention to run for the office to the Convention Secretary by 5:00 p.m., Thursday June 25, 2026 ….
As of 5 PM today, here’s what I’m told we have for candidates to vote for in the following races (and this is the ballot order):
Public Utilities Commissioner:
Don Haggar and Peri Pourier
(Jess Bahmuller unexpectedly had to decline participation at the last moment due to family issues.)
Treasurer:
Heath Shields and Melissa Hull
Auditor:
Catherine Barranco, Tamara Grove, and Renae Randall
School and Public Lands:
Brock Greenfield and James Bialota
Secretary of State:
Monae Johnson and Heather Baxter
Attorney General:
Austin Hoffman, Lance Russell, and John Fitzgerald
Unless there’s one I missed that nobody knew about, this is it.
Over the past couple of months, the field of candidates has somewhat whipsawed back and forth, with rumors all over the place.
But when it comes down to brass tacks, it’s mostly the same people we started with, with some last-minute additions that are likely to go just how you expect.
Keep watching this space for more over the next couple of days.
If you’re a SDGOP convention attendee, and haven’t gotten your credentials, here’s a passage in the convention rules that you need to pay attention to.
Possibly in an attempt to keep the number of normal people weeded out a bit, they’re putting tight restrictions on those who were thinking of coming in on Saturday. From the Convention Rules:
3. Speaking and floor privileges shall be limited to registered delegates, convention officers, convention committee members, state party officers who are not delegates, and any candidate for statewide office nominated at the party primary election. To be eligible to vote in the elections for candidates, floor votes or be present on the floor, a delegate must be registered for the convention. Delegate registration closes at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2026.
That’s a tight timeline if you’re taking off Saturday AM to go to Rapid City. Don’t plan on any bathroom breaks along the Interstate. Purely Gas -n- go if you want to get in line before the deadline.