Category: Uncategorized

A red wave across this country portends to wash out Democrats in Congress after dismal polling results for President Biden:

“I’ve been telling Democrats, especially Democrats in targeted seats, enjoy the holidays, and you got a decision to make: retire or lose next fall,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told The Hill.

Emmer cautioned that a GOP House majority is not guaranteed, though he asserted that as many as 70 Democrats could lose their seats in a possible wave, warning “in this environment, no Democrat is safe.”

and..

That confluence of factors is leading Democrats to privately — and in some cases publicly — concede that their grip on the House is tenuous.

“The environment is particularly dour, both because of rising prices, economic anxiety, frustration about feeling stagnant when it comes to COVID, that it is not behind us despite the fact that we’ve been living with it for two years,” Democratic pollster Molly Murphy said. “If this environment holds, it’s going to be pretty damning.”

Read the entire article here.

Today, Rachel Dix of Aberdeen filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office to form a campaign committee to run for the State Senate in District 3:

This sets up a potential primary for the State Senate seat currently held by former majority whip and current Senator Al Novstrup, who has represented Aberdeen in the State House or the State Senate since 2003.

In a quick review of records, I don’t note that Senator Novstrup has ever faced a primary election in any of his races for the State Legislature.

Novstrup’s latest term of office in the Senate has had him either unopposed, or facing (now Nebraska resident) Cory Heidelberger, whom he defeated by a minimum of 1500 votes in each of their two head-to-head battles. 

pic.twitter.com/OeMtBUZtwl

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) December 27, 2021

and..

After a year, we finally agree @potus. The federal government isn’t the solution. That’s why from the start, SD took a different approach by trusting our citizens to be responsible and make the right decisions for themselves & their families. Now rescind all the federal mandates.

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) December 28, 2021

From the Argus Leader this morning comes some light humor from Democrats on their hunt for a standard bearer to take on Governor Kristi Noem:

Noem this fall formally announced her candidacy in the November election. And while the 50-year-old Republican doesn’t yet have a declared Democratic challenger, state party officials say an announcement is near.

Read it here.

Ten months ago, and again more recently, SDDP Chair Randy Seiler was talking about being ‘optimistic’ about the future, and was talking about having candidates for US Senate, Governor, and Congress.

Fast forward, and they have a life-long Indy as their US Senate Candidate who talks about making states raise taxes, no candidate for Governor on the horizon, and they’ve outsourced their search for a Congressional candidate.

Try not to hold your breath waiting for those promised candidates. They’ve been saying the same thing for nearly a year now, and not surprisingly, have yet to produce.

Argus Leader reporter Joe Sneve doesn’t mince many words when it comes to South Dakota Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch, as he takes a hard aim against him for a lack of transparency in the impeachment proceedings on Twitter:

Back in September, Speaker @SpencerGosch promised a transparent impeachment process. Since then, he’s failed repeatedly to live up to that. https://t.co/iWfvahhbEe

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) December 27, 2021

Republican candidate Christian Skunk has filed paperwork to set up a campaign committee for District 26 State Senate:

It’s especially interesting, as Joel Koskan, who had been a candidate for the D26 seat before, is also said to be running for the Senate. This sets up a primary contest among Republicans for the legislative district’s Senate Seat (generally, as it has been reconfigured in redistricting) held by Troy Heinert who is ineligible to run for the Senate due to Term Limits.

If you are a new candidate running or know of a new candidate jumping in, drop me a note, and I’ll add them to my list. 

While her primary opponent as well as at least one member of House Leadership is casting aspersions at the priorities expressed in the Governor’s budget address, at least one member of the conservative bloc of the State House of Representatives is noting his support for Governor Kristi Noem’s plan to expand child care funding.

Gotta start somewhere.

— Rep. Fred Deutsch (@FredDeutsch) December 26, 2021

From the Argus Leader:

There are four new beer releases on tap for Woodgrain’s holiday release week.

Argus Liter

ABV: 6.8%

The ‘Argus Liter’ is a Brambleberry Pie Sour collaboration with executive editor Cory Myers and the Argus Leader team. We might be biased, but we think this one is pretty delicious.

Read that here.

Hm. Are they brewing that in Des Moines too?

From Twitter, Senator Lindsey Graham is talking about Senator Thune tonight on social media:

I couldn’t agree more with @LeaderMcConnell. I hope my good friend @SenJohnThune seeks re-election.

He’s a valuable member of the Republican Party and the Senate as a whole and a tireless advocate for the people of South Dakota. https://t.co/1lvIxHVXRB

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 24, 2021

More of the story is coming out regarding the collapse of House Majority Leader Kent Peterson during the recent Special Session for Redistricting, and the quick thinking of State Representatives Taylor Rehfeldt & Sydney Davis as trained medical professionals who were in the caucus room at the time of the medical event:

“He was up there and just kind of talking and got to the point to forge this compromised map, and all of a sudden he just went white,” said Rehfeldt, who is a nurse anesthetist and teaches for Mount Marty’s nursing program in Sioux Falls. “And I thought, ‘Oh no, this is not looking good.”

Rehfeldt sprung up from her chair. Davis followed.

“I think just for my job, I’m typically very accustomed to jumping in on critical situations and making quick decisions when people aren’t doing well,” said Davis, who works by-day as a nurse anesthetist at hospital in Vermillion. “I just never anticipated using those skills in Pierre.”

and..

Peterson now says he’s learned to bring a sandwich (and water) to work, having subsisted on Diet Coke for a few days caught up with him. But it was a scary bout with the unknown. He’d never had such reaction. And for a second, it was frightening.

Read the entire story here.