Category: Uncategorized

From Facebook – Governor Kristi Noem has posted photos if you weren’t there to see it in person..

Joe Sneve over at the Dakota Scout is reporting tonight that District 27 Republican Senate Candidate Joel Koskan is under investigation in a child abuse sex probe:

Joel Koskan, 44, is set to be arraigned on charges next week, Mellette County Sheriff Mike Blom said. Blom said the case is open, and he referred questions to the clerk of courts, where a complaint is expected to be filed on Thursday.

and…

Legislative candidates within the GOP were alerted of the pending charges Wednesday. Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck acknowledged the matter but would not be commenting.

“What I will say is that we’re aware of it and we’ll let it play out in the courts,” said the Watertown Republican.

Read the entire story here. (Paid subscription required).

There are no words at the moment.  I would agree with Senator Schoenbeck that we all need to wait and see what’s going on. But it’s more than troubling to say the least.

Gov. Noem and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Hold Rally in Rapid City

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard held a rally for the Kristi for Governor campaign in Rapid City. The event was set up for 600 attendees, but the event became standing room only due to the high demand for attendance. You can find pictures of the Rapid City rally here.

“The Democrat Party has become a party that has thrown our Constitution in the trash,” former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said at the rally. “Governors serve as a check and balance on federal mandates that are being pushed and forced on the people. There is such a clear contrast and a clear choice for voters here in South Dakota between Kristi Noem’s leadership and her opponent. He will basically be a rubber stamp on whatever the Biden Administration wants to impose on people here in South Dakota.”

“It matters who sits in leadership positions – they impact our lives every single day,” Governor Kristi Noem said at the rally. “Tulsi Gabbard is absolutely fantastic and a woman of integrity. She’s a patriot and a freedom fighter, and I’m honored to have her support.”

While serving in Congress together, Kristi Noem and Tulsi Gabbard were friends and workout buddies despite their different partisan affiliations.

Governor Noem and Tulsi Gabbard are hosting another rally this evening at 6pm CT at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance. You can sign up for the Sioux Falls event here.

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The Secretary of State contest has continued to heat up since Monae Johnson’s interview where she was pressed by KELOland about whether she is an an election denier, with a clip of the interview now finding it’s way into a commercial that’s been running on the air for her Democrat opponent, Tom Cool:

The ad marks a rare instance of a constitutional contest getting negative and combative, but it remains to be seen whether the latest entrant into the political wars from the Democrat opponent can rise above the static from the races higher up the totem pole. That’s one problem with going negative a week before the election.. who is listening at this point? By now people have been subjected to weeks and weeks of commercials, and it’s just more noise.  Tom Cool likely doesn’t have the cash to bring the issue to the level of awareness that it needs to be. It’s a minor hit, but it’s still a hit.

The “election denier” controversy in the Secretary of State’s race does bring up another point. Who is running Monae Johnson’s campaign? Because at this point, I question whether they lack any campaign intelligence whatsoever. Tom Cool has long been known as just an awful a placeholder candidate for Democrats, losing in his last 5 or so times at bat. But Monae Johnson’s stumbles have given his people a rare something to grab on to in a Constitutional race.

I’ve read at least two interviews since the infamous KELOland ‘election denier’ interview.. and all the interviewers want to talk about is whether she’s an election denier. So Monae is forced to address the question again, and again, and again, keeping the media cycle on the hit against her alive with life it might not have otherwise.

With a week to go, the smart thing to do would be for Monae to quit doing interviews. The only publicity she’s getting from those is not helping her. The damage is done, so she needs to quit giving the story daily CPR.

If she would do that, she can probably ride the GOP wave of the election through to the finish line.

South Dakota’s Senior US Senator, John Thune has an Op Ed in the Wall Street Journal today pointing out how the Biden Administration plans for the Internal Revenue Service, and warns taxpayers to choose carefully this next Tuesday. Because it may come back to haunt them if Democrats are allowed to continue unchecked:

Few differences between Democrats and Republicans are sharper than their approaches to the Internal Revenue Service. Republicans believe the IRS’s priorities should be fairly administering the law and keeping Americans’ interactions with the agency simple and few, which was a central achievement of our 2017 tax-reform law. Democrats seem to value revenue above efficiency or accountability and are intent on creating a far bigger and more intrusive enforcement-focused agency. With the narrowest of majorities they have implemented radical changes to the IRS while refusing to provide accountability and oversight. If Republican majorities take Congress, that will change.

Like the Obama IRS, President Biden’s has been marked by political bias, management failure and a lack of accountability.

Read the entire story here.

Maggie Seidel, a former Senior Advisor for Governor Kristi Noem was said to be active in working behind the scenes for unsuccessful District 24 Republican House Candidate Mary Weinheimer in Pierre this last June. And now the Argus Leader is reporting that Seidel has founded a local chapter of conservative lobbying group “Moms for Liberty.”

Maggie Seidel confirmed in an email to the Argus Leader that she’s the chapter chair of South Dakota’s new and only Moms for Liberty chapter, based in Hughes County, where Pierre is the county seat.

and..

Across the nation, Moms for Liberty chapters and other local PACs have driven interest in school board races, endorsing and raising money for candidates, many of whom rejected mask mandates in the wake of COVID-19 or opposed race-based education, according to USA Today.

Read the entire story here.

With the passing of Kitty Werthmann this last July, noting that Kitty led lobbying efforts for conservative women’s group the Eagle Forum which has not sent a lobbyist to Pierre since 2020, this may be an organization that attempts to fill the void for conservative women.

 

PUC Chair and Candidate Chris Nelson was interviewed by Dakota News Now this past weekend, and Chris has posted the interview to his facebook page for your watching:

SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman is part of the program with former President Donald Trump this Thursday in Sioux City, according to the official line-up for Donald Trump’s “Save America” Rally:

The official lineup for Donald Trump’s Save America Rally on Nov. 3 in Sioux City was announced Monday afternoon and includes the number of former party leaders and new hopefuls on the ballot.

While Trump is expected to address the crowd at 7 p.m., seven others are expected to speak to the crowd that day with speeches starting at 4 p.m.

and..

Two former Trump Administration officials will also speak. Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who served as the ambassador to China for the Trump administration, is expected to speak at the event as is former acting Attorney General Matt Whittaker.

The remaining two speakers will be Iowa Republican party chairman Jeff Kaufmann and South Dakota Republican party chairman Dan Lederman.

Read the entire story here.

If you’re interested in getting tickets (and if they’re still available) you can get them here.