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The South Dakota Republican Party is having an internal contest tomorrow as to who will guide the organization at least through the next two year election cycle.

Two candidates have offered themselves for serving the members of South Dakota’s Republican Party as chair. One, Former State Representative Tom Brunner, announced that he intended to run for the chairmanship when State Representative Kevin Jensen withdrew from the race.  At this writing, Brunner has been a candidate for State GOP Chair for less than 100 hours.  His running mate for vice-chair, Tamera Weis, has been in the race less than 24 hours.  It seems from the onset that their candidacies were not ones that involved careful contemplation of the job, the extensive and often thankless and never-ending duties, and the weight they would be taking on their shoulders. Rather, it sure seems they were talked into running so a faction of oppositional people could get warm bodies in the race.

I have often said that the only problem with being chairman is that once you get the job, you actually have to be chairman.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked for the party way back thirty years ago, and more recently, work with them on projects over the last several campaign cycles. I can tell you first-hand the Chairmanship role is not one to be taken as a lark. It is not for the faint of heart, and from the moment they take office, they take on massive responsibilities, a exhausting travel schedule both in-state and out of state, and they take on the mantle of having to raise a million dollars or more to keep the lights on.  You can hire staff to do some of it, increasing your expenses, but the buck stops with the chairman. It’s mentally and physically taxing, sucking up time from your family and your employment.

And not only are you taking on a challenge of earning enough to keep the lights on, you are also taking on the challenge of earning legitimacy and buy-in from the people you serve at all levels.  You have to have the cooperation of the stakeholders in the Republican party. Both organizationally and from the elected officials who are in the public’s eye the figureheads for the organization.

Governor Noem doesn’t need the party to raise tens of millions of dollars. Senator Thune doesn’t need the party to raise tens of millions of dollars. Neither does Mike Rounds or Dusty Johnson, or even Marty Jackley.  Generally the State House and State Senate can raise significant funds on their own as well. However, their working in synergy with the party helps bring up the next generation to serve in office. It allows the party to raise funds for themselves, as well help candidates who need technical assistance, such as some constitutional offices. Providing technical assistance to new legislative candidates as well as county and other candidates.  Buy-in at the top helps the mission of the organization to keep the party healthy and thriving.  A healthy and vibrant Republican party is good for all members of the GOP.

And there’s only one candidate for Chairman who has taken the time and effort to make his case, and earn the buy-in from stakeholders. 

John Wiik has been on the road (and on the phone) making his case to become the next chair of the Republican Party. Wiik has worked as a member of his county Republican organization, and has served in the legislature for a decade, successfully running for election without a break in service.  Wiik has been talking to people about serving in the role of chairman informally since late November, and announced officially over a month ago that he was running with the endorsement of all of our State’s elected officials, as well as with a massive number of members of GOP Leadership, numbering at 100 or more at this writing.

As a long-time member of our local Central Committee,  I can tell you that Senator Wiik is known to most members of our local group, as he is with many Republicans across the state.  I can’t say the same for his opponent, who I have yet to see even an e-mail from regarding his candidacy (and yes, I’m voting tomorrow, as I am carrying a proxy).

Since announcing, John Wiik has held telephone town halls with members of the central committee, as well as spoken with individual members directly. He has been answering questions and has made his case to be the next chairman.  Senator John Wiik has earned the opportunity to serve as the next chair for the entire GOP throughout South Dakota, not just a person representing a faction who is only concerned with getting their guy in.  Because Wiik knows it’s not just about one person, or one group. It’s about the health and strength of the entire South Dakota Republican Party.

 

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Similarly, I would also encourage the election of State Representative Mary Fitzgerald as Vice Chair. I can say that I haven’t always seen eye to eye with Mary.  But I can also tell you that she is not afraid to reach out and bridge a divide, which she absolutely has. And without a doubt, she is the strongest candidate. Mary Fitzgerald should be the next Vice-Chair of the South Dakota Republican Party. 

As John Wiik noted when he announced Mary as his running mate, “Mary is a dedicated county party chair and state legislator.” said John Wiik “She knows a lot about long days of hard work in public service and will be a great addition to the leadership team.”  Mary IS a dedicated County Chair, and has been involved with the party for decades. She knows what it takes to run a successful Republican organization in one of our State’s largest counties.

Mary is also an indefatigable campaigner who has won elected office. People might not give this a lot of credence, but I think this is an important quality in our party’s elected officials considering the very job of the Republican party is to elect candidates. Good Candidates make great Republican Party leaders. If you look a the successes the party has had under past leaders such as Bob Gray, Tim Rave, and Dan Lederman, they understand what the party can do to bolster and complement the efforts of candidates when they are in the waning days of a campaign.

John Wiik and Mary Fitzgerald are the only effective team who can lead the South Dakota Republican Party through the next election.  They have the experience at the grassroots in the Republican Party, and they have the experience in running effective campaigns for office.

I hope you will join me in hoping for their success tomorrow and supporting their candidacies to lead the South Dakota Republican Party.

Governor Kristi Noem‘s chief of communications, Ian Fury, sent out a note to State media tonight, criticizing the state of the tribe address that was given today by Chairman Lengkeek of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe.

Folks,

Our state’s Native American heritage and culture is such an important part of what makes South Dakota a special place. Governor Noem recognizes that. She acknowledges it every time we deploy resources to help the tribes, sign law enforcement MOUs to keep our tribal people safe, and incorporate Native American heritage and culture into our education standards. She invested in the first ever tribal-run meth treatment facility to help the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. She has repeatedly invested in regional mental health resources, which will also help our tribal communities. She highlighted the Department of Tourism’s efforts to advance tribal tourism in her State of the State Address this week. She has repeatedly made efforts to reconcile our differences and come together as one state.

I wish the same spirit of shared culture and reconciliation was present at today’s State of the Tribes Address. Chairman Lengkeek of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe chose instead to deliver a message of division and perpetuate false narratives about Governor Noem and her Administration.

I will make corrections to many of his statements today, in turn.

Chairman Lengkeek criticized Governor Noem’s proposed Social Studies Standards, both in content and in process. He repeatedly stated that “Oceti Sakowin history is South Dakota history.” We agree! Governor Noem’s standards represent the largest emphasis on Native American history of any proposed standards to date. Commission members very specifically focused on the importance of incorporating Native American history by infusing them throughout every grade level, and they contain significantly more references to Native American topics than the current standards. It is important to note that a number of the proposed standards are directly aligned to the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEUs); the Standards repeatedly cite to the OSEUs. Teachers are encouraged to continue using the OSEUs as they address Native American history and civic topics, as well as in other academic content areas where they might be applied. However, Chairman Lengkeek insinuated that the OSEUs are not being utilized – Governor Noem’s standards ensure that they will be.

Regarding the recent winter storms, Chairman Lengkeek stated that “emergency services were slow to react.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, former Chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Rodney Bordeaux recently wrote a letter to Governor Noem thanking her for the efforts of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety (which are detailed here) and the South Dakota National Guard (which are detailed here and here) to assist in the storm response. In fact, after the false media narrative that the Governor was not responding to tribes like Rosebud was corrected, Rosebud Chairman Scott Herman statedthat he was grateful for the assistance the state provided. Communication between the Office of Emergency Management and the tribes remained robust throughout. It’s a shame that Chairman Lengkeek chose to perpetuate a false narrative.

Chairman Lengkeek then blamed the state for the fact that the Code Talker Memorial at Capitol Lake hadn’t been completed. Every veteran memorial at Capitol Lake was built through fundraising by various veterans’ organizations. And that was the plan for the Code Talker Memorial, as well. The fundraising efforts have not materialized, so now they are asking the state to foot the bill. The reason this conversation resurfaced in the first place after years of silence was that Governor Noem and Secretary David Flute reopened the door to discussion about the Code Talker Memorial.

In an unprompted diatribe, Chairman Lengkeek also implied that he wants boys to play girls’ sports.

Governor Noem pushed for the funding of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons office when disgraced, impeached, and removed former Attorney General Ravnsborg neglected it. She has entered into agreements with tribes to fight the meth epidemic, and her Department of Tribal Relations has hosted meth summits to fight this scourge – the 5th of which will be held later this month. She has hosted tribal leadership breakfasts, luncheons, and a Round Dance at the State Capitol. Chairman Lengkeek was invited to these but chose not to attend. She has visited tribal leaders on their reservations at their invitation. She has never received such an invitation from Chairman Lengkeek. She has also delivered major broadband investments to the reservations, including $456,000 in grants to Flandreau Sioux Tribe and $474,500 in grants to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Unfortunately, other tribes chose to reject the Governor’s broadband grants.

“It is time to put aside personal and political discord and recognize and embrace our shared history for the benefit of all South Dakotans,” Chairman Lengkeek said at the end of his address. We agree – but that message is polar opposite to the spirit with which he delivered this address.

Sincerely,

Ian Fury
Chief of Communications
Governor Kristi Noem (

From Twitter:

Tom Brunner has picked Tamera Weis to run as his vice-chair for the @sdgop race this coming weekend. Weis was formerly the Chair of the Turner County GOP.

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) January 12, 2023

Wow. Tom Brunner has as his running mate for the GOP Chair/Vice-chair race Tamera Weis? I believe she was just ousted as chair of the Turner County GOP group, and who kept trying to cut off Governor Kristi Noem at the microphone at their last Lincoln Day Dinner. (Or was it a “we the people” dinner, because I heard it wasn’t branded a Republican event.)

That’s not a positive leadership option for the GOP.

What’s happening with House State Affairs has the attention of a number of people in the State Legislature, as State Representative Will Mortenson has apparently updated the ground rules for the committee and is running a far tighter ship than people may have experienced in the past:

He said Wednesday that night meetings would be scheduled only as “a last resort.” He doesn’t plan to delay bill hearings for amendments and said the committee won’t take remote testimony.

As for what he described as “repeated issues” that the committee has already voted on, Mortenson said those will receive “shorter but equal” time for testimony, “no matter how contested.”

Read the entire story here.

The “No remote testimony” rule stands out, as it changes the landscape. If you want to be heard on a measure, you need to go to Pierre and show up.

I think there’s good and bad in that, but we’ll see.

Governor Kristi Noem had her second inauguration this last weekend, and unfortunately, my plans to attend were somewhat scuttled.

After my wife traveling back and forth to Washington DC twice, both flying and in a vehicle each time over the last few weeks, plus slipping on the ice and straining her knee, everyone was tired, and a weekend at home ended up being an OK thing.

However, since we couldn’t go, the Inaugural committee was kind enough to send over my inaugural pins for the event, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to show up.

The 2023 Inaugural pin marks 90 years since South Dakota Inaugural pins started being issued for the event starting in 1933 and handed out for nearly every gubernatorial inauguration except for the 1943 Inaugural during World War II.

The Governor’s likeness started being included on the pin with the 1935 Tom Berry pin, after the 1933 pin just depicted a more politicized donkey’s head for the Democrat Governor.

Starting in 1999 with Governor Janklow, all pins issued by the Inaugural Committee since have also included the Governor’s spouse as part of the design.

Attorney General, DCI Rule Rapid City Officer Involved Shooting Justified

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says a Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI review indicates that a Rapid City Police officer was justified in the shooting death of a man who charged at the officer during an incident Nov. 18, 2022 in Rapid City.

“The Rapid City Police Department Officer encountered an armed individual in a dangerous, escalating and tense environment,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The officer attempted to deescalate the situation but the individual they encountered continued with threatening behavior.  This was a justified use of lethal force by the officer.”

The officer had responded to an incident at a Rapid City apartment complex. The DCI investigation found that James Mathew Murphy had charged at the officer with a knife and attempted to the stab the officer. The officer subsequently discharged a duty-issued firearm twice and was justified in using lethal force. Murphy died as a result of his wounds.

Video and audio recordings from the officer’s body worn camera, witness interviews, examination of evidence by the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory and surveillance camera video corroborated the findings of DCI investigators and the officer’s account that they faced clear and present danger and that there was danger to the public.

“My thoughts and prayers remain with both Mr. Murphy’s family and the officer who was placed in this most difficult situation,” said Attorney General Jackley.

The Attorney General and the Division of Criminal Investigation would like to thank the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Meade County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Rapid City Police Department, and the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory for their assistance and cooperation during the investigation.

The summary of the incident can be found here.

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Secretary of State Monae Johnson is all over the media today with a second interview, this time with Dakota News Now where she talks about her Deputy Secretary of State taking over the position when she’s done:

And for Johnson, the buck stops at the Secretary of State’s office. She hopes to serve two terms, something that hasn’t happened since her former boss, Chris Nelson, did it from 2003 to 2011.

Then, she wants to retire to the Black Hills.

“We will have to find somebody to train, that is the way it should be,” Johnson said of her long-term plan. “The Deputy Secretary should end up being the next Secretary of State. I just want to do this job, and do it well…”

Read the entire story here.

Monae Johnson wants her Deputy to be the next Secretary of State?  Never mind that her Deputy Tom Deadrick came in last when he ran in 2010.

If her plan would bear fruit, with Tom Deadrick currently being at retirement age at 70 now, he would be …78 years old running for Secretary of State in 2030?

This should be interesting..

An interview with Secretary of State Monae Johnson in the Dakota Scout today ended with her trying to ride the fence on whether she believes elections are rigged or not.

As noted in the interview:

The new secretary, who won office in November, said she needs time to assess what laws should be changed. Top of her list is developing a post-election audit process for South Dakota elections.

and..

When it comes to elections in the state, Johnson said some people think everything is fine, and some think elections are rigged. Johnson said she’s somewhere in the middle.

Read it here. (Subscription required)

Secretary of State Monae Johnson intimates that she’s somewhere in the middle? Does that mean she thinks there is …some rigging of elections? How do you claim you’re somewhere in the middle between thinking elections are fine and thinking they’re rigged?

If being rigged a little is arsenic, you’re still peddling poison.

You have to wonder whether people are spending a little too much time on the Internet. Case in point would be Bruce Whalen, who badly lost the primary for US Senate against US Senator John Thune.

Because Bruce is out on facebook claiming some sort of fix was in as to why he lost. It was because of the algorithms:

If you listen to Bruce, his loss has nothing to do with the fact that US Senator John Thune is immensely popular, or that on the campaign trail he explained Jesus was coming for the rapture and the tribulation was going to hit, told people that they should take sheep dewormer for covid, and talked about stoning people and treating politicians with dewormer.

Nope. It was an “algorithm deployed during the primary selected Democrats.”

In one of the posts I linked, I noted that Bruce should get off the stage, because he was damaging the Republican brand by spouting off crazy stuff.

Obviously he hasn’t taken the advice.

Morning Consult is at it again, as they release their regular rankings of the popularity of our elected officials. And in the most recent edition, US Senator John Thune is noted as the second most popular US Senator in the entire country!

South Dakota’s Junior Senator Mike Rounds comes in the top ten as well, polling as #6 in the nation.

The takeaway is that we love our Senators in this state!