Wow! That came unexpectedly and early. But as far as Dusty Johnson is concerned, I suspect it is nonetheless very welcome:
Congressional candidate and Mitchell resident Dusty Johnson
will have a powerful ally on his quest to earn a seat in the U.S. Capitol in 2018.
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard told The Daily Republic on Thursday he would endorse his former chief of staff of four years for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives if Johnson enters the race.
Hmm. If the last two election cycles are any measure, that gives Dusty a less than 50% chance !
This endorsement combined with Dusty’s fundraising haul will line up a lot of the fundraising behind him. Big deal.
well there goes Dusty’s campaign….
This is going to be $$$, establishment and insiders vs the people.
I’d like to see Stace get in also.
Too associated with Daugaard.
The guy looks 14.
Maybe 15. But that’s pushing, it.
In one fell swoop Dusty just managed to box out Shantel from the Daugaard donor base. She might as well not even bother, unless Jason Williams has an extra couple hundred thousand lying around.
Yep. Race is over. Give it to dusty now. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
The only way to change things is to drain the swamp and beat these guys. I’m sick of the establishment in SD. They backed Hillary Clinton.
They sure did. It’s not over.
I don’t think Shantel cares. And she shouldn’t run cause you want to do good. Not because of what someone else wants.
Shantel will be able to raise enough money and has many more strengths as compared to Dusty. She has actual legislative experience and in just a few short years has proved to be one of the best Secretary of States we’ve had. What’s Dusty going to run on? Raising regulatory rates? Quitting elected office? Running the govs office from Mitchell? No one should be surprised his former boss endorsed him.
Shouldn’t she complete at least one term of office before you start labeling her “the best?” Or does she sign your paycheck?
Shouldn’t he have completed one day to the term he was elected to?
She doesn’t sign my paycheck. Just looking at the backgrounds of the two..
Girls, you’re all pretty. Stop the sniping. Save it for the Democrats.
I think it would have been nice if Daugaard would have let the candidates run on their own merits without an endorsement this early. With Daugaard’s support of Common Core, Medicaid expansion, and increased taxes to pay for one segment of our workforce, I’m not sure that his endorsement will mean all that much to many GOP voters. I don’t know who I would support at this point – heck, I don’t even know who is running for sure and neither do the potential candidates – but I think the candidates would be better served without any endorsement at this point and to just tell us voters what they would support and why if elected. It would be interesting to see where Dusty’s sudden influx of money came from – maybe from a push from Daugaard’s administration and promised endorsement?
Krebs already took on an incumbent Republican with Gant, she and Jackley broke with the GOP by endorsing an ethics commission and now it looks like if she wants to run for congress she will have to take on the insiders and establishment again.
Going to be interesting.
She’s said she is focused on the office and not campaigning so why bring her into the conversation?
Because she said she would consider running in an Argus article.
And Daugaard’s support of Hillary Clinton. Wow. Yep.
I hope 3 or 4 people run. I’d like an alternative to Daugaard’s pick.
Totally agree.
Dusty has made all the right moves and with DD’s. support he’s unbeatable
DD is not popular. The TAX gov.
What liberal rag are you reading that would indicate that DD is not popular? Or that he’s the TAX gov? You need to switch news sources. Or come out from under your rock.
Meaningless and completely expected. For as many Dusty supporters there are at least as many detractors. It will come down to who and how many run against him. He will have his base and if the others split the vote he’s in. If it’s only 1 other solid contender it’s 50-50 imo.
The only difference between Dusty and Shantel is she’s much cuter. Too calculating and ambitious for my taste. I would love to see Larry Rhoden step in.
I think Dusty’s detractors/opponents should continue upon two paths:
1) Misrepresent Governor Daugaard as supporting Hillary Clinton, a “chicago lawyer” implying he is like Obama, and make this endorsement an issue.
2) Criticize Dusty’s decision to resign from PUC and serve as Chief of Staff.
This detractor will go down the path that says Dusty is not a conservative and that is why a liberal tax and spend governor endorsed him.