Is Toby Doeden kidding?

A text invite to take a poll went out this evening, mainly with several push poll/slanted messages against Amendment H. But included in those messages was this dead giveaway of the text-invite poll’s origin.

Seriously? Aside from the fact that the poll invite comes as a text message with a link much like one would be invited to send money to a Nigerian prince, the fact that it includes Toby at all tells you who is asking.

Absolutely no one is polling his name after his lightning quick exit from his Congressional exploration earlier this year. Not to mention his self-indulgent rally that was protested by the NAACP.

I don’t know if he thinks he’s going give it another go on the strength of the nazi rally vote coming in for him, but in 2026 actual Republicans won’t have the time of day for that clown. There ain’t no way he could win dog catcher, much less run for statewide office.

Stay tuned. And don’t click on strange text messages.

Goofy election truther Jessica Pollema attacked the Minnehaha County Commission yesterday, accusing them of treason because …Minnehaha County follows federal law?

Under current South Dakota law, voters filling on registration forms must have “maintained residence in South Dakota for at least 30 days prior to submitting the registration form.” That state law conflicts with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1970 where no person shall be denied the right to vote “because of durational residency requirement or absentee balloting.”

At the commission meeting, Minnehaha County resident Jessica Pollema said she believes the sanctity of elections in the state are at risk if they allow “thousands of unverified perjured voters” to commit fraud by voting. She accused the county commissioners of treason for allowing them to vote.

“I’m a little upset right now,” commission chair Dean Karsky said after public comment ended. “I’ve spent six years active duty in the Air Force. I’m being accused of treason. I’m being told I need to do something. Nobody tells me what I’m supposed to do, I don’t prosecute laws. I’m a county commissioner.”

Read the entire story here at KELOland.com.

I’m not sure what do you do with someone who makes up their own definition to words they read on facebook.

South Dakota Has a Primary Problem

Joe Kirby, Chairman of South Dakota Open Primaries announced, “We have a primary problem in South Dakota. Only 17% of voters turned out for the June 2024 primary election. It appears over 70% will vote in the November general election. Why the difference? Because many South Dakota voters are denied a meaningful role in the state’s closed primaries.”

“Public officials are quick to criticize voters when turnout is low. But the problem isn’t the voters. South Dakotans have proven they love to vote in important elections. The state’s antiquated closed primary system prohibits them from doing that.”

“The closed primary system made more sense when there were two strong political parties in the state and very few independent voters. But the world has changed. The South Dakota Democratic party has become mostly irrelevant with no Democrat currently occupying statewide office and only about 10% of legislative positions. Meanwhile, the number of independent voters who choose not to affiliate with either party has skyrocketed to 155,000. The number of independent voters in the state far exceeds the number of Democrats.”

“Amendment H is on the November 5^th ballot and would solve South Dakota’s primary problem. All candidates for an office would be listed on a single ballot. All legal voters would get that ballot. The top two vote getters would move on to the general election. Most importantly, all voters would get to vote.”

“The state of South Dakota estimates an open primary would attract another 50,000 voters. We think that their estimate is low. South Dakotans have proven at multiple general elections that they will turn out in large numbers when there are interesting and competitive races. Open primaries promise to increase the number of candidates as well the competition in our elections.”

The following chart uses data from the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website.

YEAR	General Election	Primary Election
2016	70%	21%
2018	65%	27%
2020	74%	28%
2022	59%	32% (Amendment C drew a crowd)
2024	>70% estimated	17%

Kirby added, “We have a primary problem in South Dakota.155,000 independent and not affiliated South Dakota voters currently have little to say about who represents them and leads the state. That’s not fair. Nor is it good for our state. After all, democracy works best when all voters get to vote. Vote YES on H!”

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Attorney General Jackley, SDSU, USD File Motion To Keep NCAA lawsuit in State Court

PIERRE, S.D – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces his office and the South Dakota Board of Regents, on behalf of South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota, have filed a motion seeking to have its lawsuit against the NCAA heard in state, not federal, court.

The motion, filed Tuesday in South Dakota U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls, is in response to a motion earlier filed by the NCAA requesting that the lawsuit be moved to federal court.

“For a case to be moved to federal court, the federal court must either have original jurisdiction or involve significant federal issues, and the NCAA fails to satisfy either requirement,” said Attorney General Jackley. “We believe this case should remain in state court, regardless the NCAA settlement is unfair to smaller universities and female athletes.”

Attorney General Jackley and the Board of Regents, SDSU and USD filed its lawsuit in September in Brookings County Circuit Court, arguing a proposed $2.8 billion settlement between the so-called “Power Four” conferences unfairly forces smaller schools like the South Dakota schools to be responsible for a disproportionate share of the settlement cost. The lawsuit also states the female athletes would receive only 10 percent of the settlement proceeds.

The judge will rule on the motion at a later time.

South Dakota’s response to the NCAA can be found here:

Congressman Dusty Johnson is on the air with his new Campaign commercial Ports to Prairies. Click on the image and check it out!

Congressional hopeful Democrat Sheryl Johnson’s campaign is going to quietly wind down at this point. Because with 20 days to go until the election, with only $16k in the bank, she’s not going to do much else.

Sheryl Johnson Oct 2024 Fec by Pat Powers on Scribd

Sheryl had a passable quarter for a first time statewide candidate with $77,917.03 in receipts.  The problem is that she has nothing for the homestretch after spending $100,232.72, which included her existing cash on hand. That left the SD Mom for Congress with $16,263.08 cash on hand to run the rest of the campaign.

Or more likely, make sure her staff is paid, get things returned, and quietly close things down in the remaining days until November 5th.

Attorneys General Jackley, Kobach, and Wrigley Argue DACA Rule Would Place Undue Burdens on States

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, and North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley Tuesday argued in North Dakota U.S. Federal Court that a proposed federal rule that treats DACA recipients as legal citizens would impact the financial health and public safety of States.

“The burdens fall on the States when Washington fails to address illegal immigration and secure our Southern Border,” said Attorney General Jackley. “It has affected the public health and safety with the flow of meth and fentanyl from the Southern Border into our States. The financial burden of this proposed DACA rule for South Dakota families is real, ranging between $26 million to $35 million per year.”

Attorney Generals in 19 States filed the suit this August challenging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ final rule regarding eligibility of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients for a Qualified Health Plan through an Affordable Care Act exchange.

The federal court has now taken the case under advisement and ordered the federal government to produce factual information to the States. A decision will be announced in the near future with the Rule going into effect Nov. 1, 2024.

In addition to South Dakota, Kansas, and North Dakota, other Attorney Generals who joined this suit are from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

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Senator Thune continues to add to his unmatched campaign account as he prepares to help candidates across the country.

John Thune Oct 2024 FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

Senator John Thune filed his latest FEC report today, underlining why he’s going to be the next majority leader as he transferred an incredible $4 Million to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The Senator raised $865,939.28, and spent $4,173,553.55, including that big transfer. And he still has $15,210,883.39 cash on hand.

 

Dusty Johnson just posted what might be his best quarterly fundraising total ever in the congressional race. Not to mention he just broke $5 million cash-on-hand.

Dusty Johnson Oct 2024 FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

In a 250-page plus Federal Elections Commission filing, Congressman Dusty Johnson has managed to hit new heights in flexing his fundraising ability in the race for Congress, as he reported raising $562,655.82 from his primary campaign committee, along with transferring another $90,900.00 in from his Joint Fundraising Committee, plus $18,959.80 in interest – totaling $672,515.62.

I had to call and ask, and campaign staff are reporting to me that this appears to be Congressman Johnson’s highest quarterly total ever.  That’s against only $139,215.51 in campaign expenditures.

But the big number Dusty put up was a new peak in fundraising where I believe he broke the ceiling for his cash on hand, setting a new benchmark of $5,198,727.36 cash-on-hand to use in his race against Sheryl Johnson. Or not.  Johnson is not done raising money this year either with a number of fundraisers yet to come in the remaining three weeks before the election. Including one in Brookings that I’ll attend next week.

Congressman Johnson is on a huge roll towards election day.

And perhaps an election beyond.

Governor Noem and Colleagues Defend “Help Not Harm” Legislation  

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and nine fellow governors submitted an amici curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court for the United States v. Skrmetti case. This case regards the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that, similar to South Dakota’s “Help Not Harm” law, bans harmful, irreversible medical procedures on vulnerable minors. 

“South Dakota’s kids are our future, and I will always stand up for the next generation of South Dakotans,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “The Biden-Harris Administration intervened in this case, but the federal government has no business forcing states to perform harmful, irreversible, and unscientific medical procedures on children.”

In 2023, Governor Noem signed House Bill 1080, which passed 60 to 10 in the House and 30 to 4 in the Senate. It is now codified at SDCL 34-24-33 through 34-24-38. 

Governor Kristi Noem is joined on brief by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, and Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

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