Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former Representative Debra Anderson

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Saturday, December 10, in honor of former state Representative Debra Anderson. She served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1977-1989 and was the first (and only) female to serve as Speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives.

“I got to know Deb and her husband, John, well over the years. She broke a glass ceiling for women in our state,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “She had a true servant’s heart, and she also served in President George H.W. Bush’s administration. She will be missed, and our prayers are with her family.”

Funeral services for former Rep. Anderson will take place on Saturday, December 10, at the Farina United Methodist Church in Farina, IL.

Thank you to the members of the @sdgop State Central Committee for electing me to serve the past 6 years as your state chair. Although I will not be running for re-election, I’m honored to be a member of this family and look forward to continue helping Republicans win elections!

— Dan Lederman (@danlederman) November 21, 2022

After a few weeks in South Dakota, the Senate was back in Washington this week. We had hearings, votes and meetings with South Dakotans. My legislation passed on the floor this week – read to the end for a video of that! Here’s my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota groups I visited with: Tom Heller, CEO of Missouri River Energy Services; representatives from Dakota State University, including President José-Marie Griffiths; Members of the South Dakota National Guard Enlisted Association.

Other meetings this week: A group of senators and I met with ambassadors from the African Union and European Union. I also met with three nominees for executive positions. Additionally, we had our weekly Senate Bible Study (Our verse of the week was Proverbs 3:7-8).

I had the honor of speaking on a panel at Politico’s Defense Summit with Dr. Maggie Smith, a professor at the Army Cyber Institute, and David McKeown, deputy CIO at the Department of Defense, about our nation’s cybersecurity challenges.

At the end of the week and over the weekend, five other senators and I, along with three members of the House, attended the International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. We spent three days talking with leaders from around the world, including Sweden, Taiwan and Germany, about world issues including the ongoing war in Ukraine. I was also part of a panel called Mind the Gap: Keeping our Tech Superiority.

Met with South Dakotans from: Belle Fourche, Brookings, Madison and Sioux Falls.

Topics discussed: Senate Republican leaders for the new Congress, South Dakota’s growing cybersecurity industry and transatlantic relationships supporting national security.

Votes taken: 5 – One of these was on the Respect for Marriage Act. I voted no. I did not believe this legislation was necessary, as Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision that guarantees the right to marriage to same-sex couples, has not been overturned. Additionally, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, only one of the nine Supreme Court justices supported a position stating that the Court should reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges.

Legislation passed: This week, my legislation creating a Congressional Charter for the National American Indian Veterans (NAIV) unanimously passed the Senate. The NAIV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advocating for tribal veterans. They are headquartered in South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Reservation, and with this charter, they are officially recognized for the work they do on behalf of the more than 140,000 Native veterans across the United States.

Hearings: We had a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee on oversight of financial regulators where we had the opportunity to question representatives from the financial industry, including the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Classified briefings: I attended one classified briefing this week related to our work at the International Security Forum in Halifax.

My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen, Artesian, Brookings, Dell Rapids, Garretson, Madison, Mitchell, Spearfish, Watertown and Woonsocket.

Staff happenings: My DC staff hosted our annual Roundsgiving during their lunch hour on Thursday. We had all of the traditional Thanksgiving food, including a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

Steps taken this week: 50,626 steps or 22.5 miles

South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Dan Lederman announced today that after three terms of office he would not be running for the chairmanship of South Dakota’s largest political party again in 2023, and he was making his announcement at this time to allow others interested to contemplate the job. In a release sent out today, Lederman pointed to increasing numbers of Republican donors, legislators, county GOP organizations and voters as examples of the current Republican Party leadership team accomplishments. In his statement issued this afternoon:

Dan Lederman has announced that he will not seek re-election to another term as Chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party. Lederman has successfully led the GOP State Committee for 6 years.

“I want to thank the members of the SDGOP State Central Committee for allowing me to serve three terms as their state chairman,” said Lederman.

“I’m proud of our accomplishments,” said Lederman. “South Dakota Republicans focused on electing strong leaders who brought visionary economic policies that have benefited the families of our great state.”

“Working to elect and re-elect our great Governor Kristi Noem will be one of my greatest legacies as State Party Chair,” said Lederman. “It is clear that under Governor Noem’s leadership, South Dakota is making the lives of our citizens better.”

Under Lederman’s watch, Senator John Thune, Senator Mike Rounds and Congressman Dusty Johnson have received robust grassroots support from South Dakotans that returned their common-sense conservative voices to Washington D.C.

Lederman was first elected as State Party Chair in February 2017. Since Lederman became State Party Chair, the GOP has made historic state legislative gains and has grown Republican voter registration grown by more nearly 50,000.

Lederman was swept into the party’s leadership role in 2017 when Pam Roberts, the State Party chair at the time gave mixed signals on continuing in the role. Lederman was able to convince a majority of county GOP organizations that the Chairmanship should be driven by the grassroots.

Lederman led the GOP during a time which saw the GOP’s opposition, the State Democrat Party, fall apart and crumble organizationally, culminating in their own chairman Paula Hawks abandoning the position within a matter of weeks after taking office. Under Lederman, the Republican Party enjoyed some of their strongest showings in over 50 years.

The party aggressively recruited candidates and put efforts into promoting the Republican ticket as a whole, which paid off in pushing records numbers of elected Republicans in the state to even greater heights, and he was able to hold the same numbers through successive elections.

I’m told Lederman’s post-chairmanship plans include continuing his work in public affairs for the LS2 Group out of Des Moines, as well as the family bail bond business.

While there are no immediately declared candidates, there are rumors out there indicating potential interest in the position from others, including current Republican State Senator John Wiik.

The election for GOP chairman will be held at an upcoming Central Committee meeting during the legislative session in Pierre.

After House Leadership elections this last weekend, the South Dakota Freedom (Free-dumb?) Caucus sent out a press release this morning claiming that because their choices were not selected for leadership, they’re claiming that there’s a major split in the party, and intimate that it’s still up in the air whether their secret group members may not participate in the GOP House caucus.

SD House GOP Caucus Becomes More Progressive

Pierre, S.D. (Nov. 21, 2022) – Saturday, the South Dakota House Republicans met to hold leadership elections for the 2023 legislative session, and the results have some claiming the Republican party is going blue, resulting in a major split in the party.

Hugh Bartels was nominated to be the next Speaker of the House, breaking with a tradition that Speaker Pro Tempore, Representative Jon Hansen, would take the position. Following Bartels for Speaker, Representative Mike Stevens was elected as Speaker Pro Tempore, Representative Will Mortensen as the Majority Leader, and Representative Taylor Rehfeldt as Assistant Majority Leader.

Some “conservative” Republicans in South Dakota have said that the party was swinging blue for some time, feeling increasingly excluded from the party, and according to the American Conservative Union, the recently elected Republican leadership are of some of the states lowest rated Republican Representatives , proving the point for conservatives that the party is going blue. The American Conservative Union best known for their annual C-PAC conference held in Washington D.C. the ACU 2021 scorecard rated Bartels at 58%, Mortensen at 70%, Rehfeldt at 78% and Stevens at 65%.

But what has some conservative Republicans worried about the newly elected leadership are their SD Right to Life ratings, with Bartels and Mortensen rated below 80%. That has Republicans like members of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus especially troubled, as Democrat groups like Dakotans for Health are circulating an Initiated Constitutional Amendment petition to make prenatal life termination a Constitutional right in South Dakota, overturning the trigger law that went into effect in South Dakota after the Dobbs decision earlier this year.

Unlike the newly elected House GOP leadership, former Speaker Pro Tempore Republican Rep. Jon Hansen is working to fight back against efforts to make feticide a right in South Dakota, forming the Life Defense Fund and has been actively raising money to combat the efforts of the Democrats.

The divide over these values has some Republican Representatives wondering if they will continue to caucus with the Republican GOP during the upcoming session.

The South Dakota Freedom Caucus said they understand the sentiment being shared by some, claiming that the Republican party is abandoning its principles and is why they formed their caucus in the first place. “Being a Republican isn’t just a name, it’s a set of values,” proclaimed Freedom Caucus Secretary/Treasurer  Representative Tina Mulally. And while some Republican Representatives have already reached out to the Freedom Caucus about attending, Freedom Caucus Vice-Chairman Representative Tony Randolph said they’re only taking those Republicans whose voting records align with the Republican platform.

“We expect people to say what they mean, and mean what they say,” said Freedom Caucus Chairman Representative Aaron Aylward, “we don’t want people who are lukewarm on their values, you’re either hot or cold.”

The Freedom Caucus hasn’t officially stated whether their members will be attending the House GOP Caucus. However, these elections have been a boost for membership for their caucus, whose membership is anonymous outside of their leadership.

The South Dakota 2023 legislative session starts January 10th.

Really? What a bunch of drama queens.

If Representative Aylwayd actually believes his expressed jingoism, and says what he means, and means what he says, he probably should not just throw out thinly veiled threats.  He, Tina Mulally, Tony Randolph, and their “anonymous caucus members” should have the courage expressed in their press release and walk. 

Because, really, if they’re not lukewarm on their values as they complain about House leadership, they should demonstrate it.

From Twitter:

At #HFX2022🦞, @SenatorRounds makes a very pithy point: “Can we imagine the world we would be living in if the #USA🇺🇸 had not welcomed Albert Einstein to immigrate?” @HFXforum pic.twitter.com/GymoZ6Pj6k

— Dr. J. Peter Pham 🇺🇲 (@DrJPPham) November 19, 2022

Word is floating around out there that Taffy Howard might be working behind the scenes on a run for State Republican Party Chair or Vice Chair this next year.  Yes, Taffy Howard of the 86% attendance record.

Tonight on Facebook, Taffy gave us a preview of what her leadership (or lack thereof) would look like, as she spewed a message of venom and disunity on Facebook because House leadership is not looking how she would have liked:

So, because Taffy doesn’t get her way, the majority are all RINO’s running fellow RINO’s against her choices..? Really?  I’m not really seeing how some sort of evil fix was in.

Nevermind that the House and Senate Caucuses selected from among their own membership based on who had the confidence of their colleagues. This might be one reason Congressman Dusty Johnson won in a landslide against Taffy in the GOP Primary election. Because Taffy has no interest whatsoever in considering that (as proven at the ballot box) she might be in the minority.

It’s almost a little scary that there are even rumors that she would even consider attempting to offer herself in consideration for statewide leadership of the South Dakota Republican Party. It’s kind of like when Lora Hubbel found herself as chair of the Minnehaha County Republican Party. More than a decade later, that group is still trying to recover from the damage Lora did.

I’m guessing that’s the kind of leadership Taffy would bring.

Because I don’t get the impression that she has any interest in growing the Republican party. As much as figuratively throwing gasoline on Reagan’s big tent, and burning it down to the ground while yelling “RINO’s” as she danced around the fire. And then washing the ash down a sewer grate in hopes of eliminating people that don’t think as she does.

Yeah..  I don’t think that would end well.

SOUTH DAKOTA HOUSE REPUBLICANS ELECT MORTENSON, REHFELDT
CAUCUS NOMINATES BARTELS FOR SPEAKER; STEVENS FOR SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE

PIERRE, S.D. – The House Republican Caucus met this morning at the State Capitol in Pierre to elect caucus leaders for the upcoming 2023 Legislative Session.

Caucus members elected Rep. Will Mortenson, of Pierre, as House Majority Leader and Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, of Sioux Falls, as House Assistant Majority Leader.

Mortenson will lead a caucus of 63 Republicans, the largest majority caucus since the House was set at 70 members in 1973. He succeeds House Majority Leader Kent Peterson of Salem, who was term-limited.

Mortenson, 34, is a second-term lawmaker from District 24. An attorney and cow hand, he is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and will be the first tribal member to lead a Republican caucus in Pierre. Mortenson is a native of Fort Pierre and a graduate of the University of South Dakota and the University of Virginia School of Law. He and his wife, Shuree, have two children.

“I’m honored to get to work for this group of legislators,” said Mortenson. “We’ve got a big job ahead of us, and we look forward to delivering conservative results to the people of South Dakota.”

Rehfeldt, 33, is a second-term legislator from District 14. A certified registered nurse anesthetist, she is assistant program director of the Mount Marty University graduate program in nurse anesthesiology. Rehfeldt is a Rapid City native and a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota State University, and Mount Marty University. She and her husband, Corey, have two children.

“It is a privilege to be elected by the House Republican Caucus,” said Rehfeldt. “I am excited to join with my fellow members and get to work.”

Joining Mortenson and Rehfeldt in the Republican leadership will be five majority whips: Reps. Rocky Blare of Ideal, Gary Cammack of Union Center, Kirk Chaffee of Whitewood, Becky Drury of Rapid City, and J. D. Wangsness of Miller.

In addition, the Republican caucus selected the party’s nominees for Speaker of the House and Speaker Pro Tempore, which will be elected when the State House convenes on January 10, 2023.

Rep. Hugh Bartels, 69, was nominated for Speaker of the House. Bartels, a Watertown retired community banker, has represented District 5 since 2017. He served on the Legislative Research Council Executive Board in 2018 and from 2021-22 and has chaired the House Retirement Laws Committee. Bartels is a graduate of Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota. He and his wife, Shelley, have three children and three grandchildren.

Rep. Mike Stevens, 69, was nominated for Speaker Pro Tempore. Stevens, a Yankton attorney, has represented District 18 from 2013-18 and again since 2021. He was a majority whip in 2014-15 and an LRC Executive Board member in 2017-18, and has been chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Stevens is a graduate of Bethel University in St. Paul MN and the University of South Dakota School of Law. He and his wife, Linda, have four children and six grandchildren.

The 98^th Session of the South Dakota State Legislature convenes on January 10, 2023.

-30-

Did I hear the sound of cooperation coming out of Pierre this morning?

Because word is that after two prior Speakers that were a bit of a train wreck, House members broke with tradition and are starting fresh, choosing to select people completely new to lead the body and the caucus.

Hugh Bartels of Watertown is said to have successfully turned aside Speaker Pro Tempore Jon Hansen in a break from tradition which would have elevated him to the position of Speaker of the House.  Mike Stevens was ultimately unopposed and will be the next Speaker Pro Tempore.

On the more political side, Will Mortenson won the position of House Majority Leader, and Taylor Rehfeldt won the position of Assistant Majority Leader.

Mortenson and Rehfeldt will be starting their second terms of office with both having 2 more terms available after that, which has the potential to provide fairly stable leadership in the House for some time to come. In addition, both are strong campaigners, which bodes well for House Republican efforts in upcoming elections.

(**Update – Wangsness, Drury, Chaffee, Blare, and Cammack are whips for the upcoming term)

Congratulations to all!

Apparently the Argus Leader is not just sending their printing to another state, but they’re sending the money paid for subscriptions outside of South Dakota, and proving what many suspect, that Gannett is kind of evil as they are putting their reporters on furlough over Christmas:

You can contribute to the GoFundMe here.

I do see that Berk Ehmergerd, the executive director for the Democrat Party for now, already gave $20.