If you’re looking for the Minnehaha County Republican Party Officer election results, I’ve scoured my sources and found a couple people who were brave enough to stay up until voting ended around 11:30 in a meeting that was described as “full of attacks and negativity ” as the legacy of outgoing Minnehaha County GOP Chair R. Shawn Tornow.
The theme of the evening was raw anger against vice-chair Jennifer Foss. Treasurer Tyler Swanger gave an impassioned speech against Foss, dropping the f-bomb a couple of times, and outgoing Chair R. Shawn Tornow several times used “Chairman’s privilege” to ask loaded questions directed to whichever candidate he didn’t like and softball questions to boost whichever candidate he did like.
There was a flyer handed out showing who the current leadership team wanted…
And in opposition, another handout detailing facebook attacks (in part below) allegedly from Vice Chair Jennifer Foss against a precinct committeewoman/board member.
And it sounds like this might have been one of the biggest free-for-alls in modern history at a county GOP meeting.
When the dust settled only two from the slate of people the outgoing board wanted had survived, The State Committeeman and Committeewoman:
Chair – Korry Petterson
Vice Chair – Marsha Symens
Secretary – Patrick Peterson
Treasurer – Dave Rundell
State Committeeman – Tom Pischke
State Committeewoman – Bridget Boyden-Myers
And none of the other recommendations of the outgoing leadership’s slate were installed.
What can we expect from the Minnehaha County GOP moving forward?
I’m told that how well the board moves forward will depend on who the new chair appoints to at-large positions. One attendee noted to me that without Tornow and Foss on the board that maybe things will calm down? But by the the same token, the board is a mix of the two far right factions, and they could continue on the path that they’re on.
Much will depend on how the new chair fills open positions on the county party’s executive board. And whether they want to go back to an organization that is taken seriously and works to elect candidates. Or is only interested in more of the same.
And maybe they’ll hire some security to keep the peace at the next meeting. Sounds like they might need it.
It almost seems like having just one party causes problems…….but we have been told the other party is the problem…..hmmm.
How did Lincoln Co turnout? I hear they also met last night and my gut tells me it probably went about the same..