Lance Russell, Fall River and Oglala Lakota County State’s Attorney,
to run for Attorney General
HOT SPRINGS, S.D. (July 1, 2025) – Fall River and Oglala Lakota County State’s Attorney Lance Russell today announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for South Dakota Attorney General. “I am running to work as our next Attorney General to ensure safer communities and open government for all South Dakotans,” Russell. “Violent and drug-related crime is on the rise in South Dakota, and my number one priority will be to reverse that trend and to make sure our streets are safe.”
Russell is committed to open government and has always fought to ensure the public’s right to know. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley appointed Lance to serve as a member of the South Dakota Open Meetings Commission in 2024. “If I am entrusted to serve as our next Attorney General, I will continue my efforts be a guardian of transparency and open government in South Dakota.”
Lance previously served 12 years in the South Dakota Legislature, with 8 years in the House and 4 in the Senate. During Russell’s time in the Senate, he served as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he focused on issues of government transparency, accountability and protecting Constitutional Rights. According to Russell, this was a significant factor in his decision to run.
“My life as a public servant has always been about fighting for victims, property rights, transparency in government, and an improved quality of life for all South Dakotans,” Russell said.
Currently in his fourth term as the Fall River and Oglala Lakota County State’s Attorney, Russell also owns a 25-year private practice in Fall River County.
Russell earned a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law and a Master of Laws Degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Law from the University of Denver College of Law. He represents Grassland Grazing Associations and is City Attorney for municipalities in the southern Black Hills.
Russell has been a life-long member of the South Dakota Republican Party and has served as the Executive Director for both the Pennington County Republican Party, and the State Republican Party. Lance has also served as GOP Chairman in his home county of Fall River and was selected by his peers to represent South Dakota as a delegate to the 2016 and 2024 Republican National Conventions.
During his public service, Russell has been recognized by South Dakota Right to Life, the National Rifle Association and the National Association for Gun Rights as a champion for our rights.
Russell concluded, “The South Dakota Republican Party will nominate our candidate for Attorney General at the 2026 Republican State Convention next year in June, and I hope to earn your support at the Convention and in the November General Election.”
###
Oh great. . . Now the Democrats will only need to run an attorney that hasn’t been censured by the state Supreme Court.
There are many fine folks for Attorney General. Probably all the others have not been the subject of a disciplinary action by the South Dakota Supreme Court. Delegates should read :In re Discipline of Russell,, Supreme Court of South Dakota. 797 NW2d 77 (SD 2011). This office is way too important for our state to head down this path again.
He would win over you Lee. Please run against him!
Springer, I guess that would be a firm no. Lee wouldn’t leave his successful career to become AG. He’s already making bank, doing what he’ loves and most importantly, has left his mark on SD politics in a positive way.
His expertise would be far better used back in the House or Senate again.
But hey, why don’t you throw your hat in the ring if you think it’s such a great idea
Interesting. Having watched Lance Russell’s campaigns in the past, I doubt he will simply withdraw his candidacy in favor of Jon Hansen at the 2026 SDGOP Convention. Russell will have a full year to campaign for AG among the delegates while Hansen focuses entirely on the gubernatorial primary. Russell could be a spoiler for Hansen’s obvious Plan B.
Russell, Hansen, or Amber Hulse? This is exactly why we need to change this entire process to a primary vote. It’s a Student Council election – one of them goes around to 250 delegates like Ravnsborg did and they get elected. We won’t elect a Democrat in South Dakota. But somehow we need to get better candidates for these job. But guess what – the better candidates don’t want to kiss the rings of a bunch of lunatic party officials across the state.
Amber needs to pass the bar exam.
Time to convince Shane Penfield to put his name on the ballot. If anyone can run the table it’s him.
Shane would have a shot at this and likely be good.
Another vote for Penfield
How many times do we have to tell this guy no? Because: NO!
Fired by City of Edgemont. Sanctioned by the Supreme Court. Served as Mr. Nelson’s primary sidekick and mini-me for several sessions.
Help grudznick understand if this is a step up or step down from Mr. Ravnsborg.
Might as well have Chad Haber and Dr. Terry Lafleur “Greetings and Salutations” announce representing their political parties or as Un-affiliated.
I mean, the idiot Ravensborg got elected, even though he had little to no experience running his OWN law office. As opposed to Randy Seiler, who had much more experience. It clearly doesn’t matter who runs, as long as they have an (R) by their name. Some idiot will get elected, simply due to that. We deserve whatever Re*ard gets that nod.
Mr. Seiler…may his soul recline at rest if you believe in that sort of thing… was competent and a swell and respectful sort of fellow. He would probably not use that term.
The last time the Republican nominee for South Dakota Attorney General was decided at convention, Jason Ravnsborg ended up winning. But here’s how it really went down:
Lance Russell and John Fitzgerald were both running. Fitzgerald was widely liked and respected, with strong qualifications. But Russell and Fitzgerald had a very public meeting at the convention and handed out a flyer, which many delegates interpreted as Fitzgerald doing some kind of deal or aligning with Russell.
In reality, it was a gentlemanly move on Fitzgerald’s part to even speak with Russell. But people were so upset by the meeting with Russell, that delegates dropped Fitzgerald. Votes shifted to Ravnsborg, who initially was going to get 3rd in a 3-person race.
Conventions aren’t always about qualifications or merit sometimes it’s optics, ego, and last-minute maneuvers that decide.
Please do your research, ask anyone that has been in an elected position, lived in southwest SD, worked for the governments in those districts.
Yes. The poolside meeting. They sat next to the pool where all could see. Next to the pool, grudznick tells you! Then the attack flyer.
Why is it again we have these conventions of hand-picked boot-lickers instead of putting these undercard tickets on the primary ballots? Oh yes, the only real job of the undercard fellows is to recruit boot-lickers to put them in the jobs to cash a big check and not have to do anything.
it wasn’t the meeting by the pool. It was the very negative flyer that was distributed, shoved under the hotel rooms’ doors (without regard to whether the rooms were occupied by delegates) and placed on the tables at the Governor’s Dinner in spite of all candidates having been informed that NO campaign materials were to be distributed at that event.
Fitzgerald had the momentum going into the convention, but the attack flyer was an affront to everybody.
What was fun to watch was the next morning, the Russell delegates, being the freeloader variety that only shows up at conventions on Saturday so they won’t have to pay any admission fees, were completely unaware of the events of the prior evening and were surprised to be met with open hostility.
Good times.
yes the flyer was wildly inappropriate, but that’s not what lit the fuse. The public meeting was the real turning point, it’s where the tension started to boil over. The flyer came afterward, but it was just a symptom of the bigger issue. People can focus on the flyer all they want, but the meeting set the tone for everything that followed.
yes. the meeting lit the fuse but the flyer was the bomb. And Fitzgerald wasn’t colluding only with Russel, was he? Wasn’t Lautenshlager a part of it? Fitzgerald made a HUGE mistake getting involved with those two.
Will Jordan Mason serve as campaign manager again?