After an unexpected void was created in South Dakota GOP Senate Leadership by the twin resignations of Assistant Majority Leader Dan Lederman, and Majority Leader Tim Rave a day later, many have been have been wondering who is going to take the reins, and when the decision is going to be made.

Well, wait no more.  The word I’m getting is that the Republican Senators are tentatively planning to caucus in about 2 1/2 weeks on May 9th to choose who will assume those positions.

And, while the list of those who are running is still rumbling quietly, one of those I’ve been able to confirm will be running is President Pro Temp Corey Brown who will be seeking the Senate Majority Leader position.

In my mind, that’s actually the best of all scenarios, allowing an experienced hand to manage caucus affairs while bringing others who might  be in whip positions up to speed to be ready to lead the following year. It sounds as if the decision was made with a bit of reluctance, as Brown noted to me that “it wasn’t an easy decision,” but serving in the majority leader role is “better for the caucus.”

We’ll find out who else might be running, and how the caucus will reconfigure in the coming days. So, keep your bookmarks at SDWC for the latest on what’s happening in caucus elections!

I did a double take, as I thought someone was referring to him as a moron, but no. The Tweet was that Larry Pressler was now a Mormon.

Having observed him over the past few decades, if someone was referring to him as a moron, I could understand where they were coming from.  But, you got me with this one. Apparently, former US Senator Larry Pressler has now officially been baptized as a Mormon:

The announcement was ordinary and without fanfare. Larry Pressler would be confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the weekly services of the Chevy Chase congregation.

But those who know the man from his three terms in the U.S. Senate and who have shared in his spiritual journey count Pressler — whether referring to him as “senator,” “brother” or just “Larry” — as extraordinary.

On Sunday, April 19, Pressler was confirmed as a church member by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, a Mormon who introduced him to the faith’s signature book of scripture. He was baptized earlier in the day by Clayton Christensen, whose conviction of the Book of Mormon detailed in The New Yorker magazine compelled the former senator to seriously study the book.

Read it here.

Ooookay.  Not something I expected to see. Or read in the paper.

His Wikipedia reference refers to him as a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, It had noted his religion as “Christianity” prior to it’s most recent change, and to be more specific, most bios note his religion as Roman Catholic.

It’s not often you see someone in his 70’s changing religions.

Since he’s leaving the Catholic faith, is this a bad time to ask if he’s going to hell?

As announced a week ago, Jon Ellis with the Argus Leader had mentioned during the 100 eyes program that Democrats allegedly had a candidate for Congress that “was a good one,” who would be announcing their candidacy at the annual Democrat state dinner.

But by the end of the night, there was nothing. No announcement other that Debbie Wasserman Schultz proclaiming that (without money or candidates), Dems would somehow prevail at this next election.

Well, good luck with that.

The fact of the matter is that they’re quickly moving towards the “sell by” date on legitimate candidacies, and are readying the yellow “priced for fast sale” stickers.

If we look at recent history at this point in the last cycle, Mike Rounds had announced, and had been campaigning for 4-5 months. And Rick Weiland was only days away from announcing (about May 8th, 2013). Having ran before (twice previously) Weiland knew that a competent campaign needed to get in the field and raise money constantly to support a major statewide campaign.

Not that he ran a competent campaign, but at least he pretended. Unlike others.

At this point, Corinna Robinson was months away from announcing (October in the year before the election) but she was crushed by a 33% margin, never had the funds to go on TV, and ended the campaign writing off nearly 12,000 of a 20,000 personal loan.

Not the kind of campaign an aspiring statewide candidate should want to emulate.

With Senate Bill 69 having been passed and signed by the Governor this year to allow additional time for petition challenges and facilitate military voting, the petition portion of the campaign season has been pushed back into December, demanding that legitimate candidates show their hand even sooner than in past election cycles.

With the mystery candidate for the congressional seat (rumored to be Paula Hawks) sitting on his or her hands at the moment, every day that ticks away with them not out fundraising and campaigning only adds to the inevitability that they face a world class shellacking at the hands of Congresswoman Noem, who is arguably at the height of her power.

And let’s not forget United States Senator John Thune whom the Dems couldn’t challenge 6 years ago – he’s 6 years stronger, and has had all that time to raise money. It’s not an exaggeration to state that it’s looking more and more that he may not be challenged once again, representing an utter embarrassment & failure of a basic test of competence for the South Dakota Democratic Party – actually running candidates for office.

With a shortened campaign season, and opponents at the height of their power and popularity, a lack of candidates is not a good sign of health for the South Dakota Democratic Party.  And it looks more and more that Democrats are consigned to yet another dismal electoral cycle, representing their continued failure as a party in South Dakota.