Republican Chris Nelson is on the air with his TV ad for the 2022 election season. Check it out:

KELOLAND pressed Republican Secretary of State candidate Monae Johnson on questions over the conduct of the 2020 election, where some question the legitimacy of the vote in some states.

And this may be something she’ll be asked about again in the remaining weeks..

Falsehoods about the 2020 election persist in 2022, so today I asked each South Dakota secretary of state candidate if they acknowledge that Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. Tom Cool (D) said "absolutely." Monae Johnson (R) declined to acknowledge this: pic.twitter.com/tU9kAPi3FW

— Dan Santella (@KELODanS) October 18, 2022

Jamie Smith: “We Need More Things to Tax”

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, at an event with the Sioux Falls Downtown Rotary, Jamie Smith told the audience that “We need more things to tax.”  He then doubled down, saying “I’m advocating for taxes on new things.” You can find a video of Jamie Smith’s remarks here.

“When someone tells you who they are, believe them,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I have cut taxes for South Dakotans, and my number one priority is eliminating the sales tax on food. Jamie Smith proved today that he can’t be trusted with South Dakota’s finances.”

Jamie Smith has a record of raising taxes. He opposed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which then-Congresswoman Noem helped pass for the people of South Dakota. That bill put $2,400 back in the pockets of the average South Dakota family.

Jamie Smith also wanted to make it easier for counties to raise taxes on South Dakotans, and he cosponsored a bill to raise the state sales tax from 4.5% to 4.85%.

Governor Kristi Noem is proud that South Dakota has a low, simple tax code. South Dakota has no personal income tax, no corporate income tax, and no statewide personal property tax. Governor Noem has proposed eliminating the sales tax on food, which will lower the tax burden on South Dakotans by another $100 million.

To learn more about Jamie Smith’s history of supporting high taxes, visit JamieandJoe.com.

###

And Jamie Smith explains what his administration would look like…

.@RepJamieSmith said today that he wants to find “more things to tax.” Then he doubled down.

South Dakotans can’t afford Jamie and his tax increases. pic.twitter.com/ENpFCttLt5

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) October 17, 2022

In case you were wondering how the Brian Bengs campaign was going to go out.. it’s not with a bang. Or even a “beng.”  It’s just going to quietly go away, as he hardly has enough left to go on the air, much less to do any mailings, etcetera.

He might be able to prevent going too far into debt if he closes his doors now, and saves those last couple of weeks of salary:

Brian Bengs 2022 3q FEC by Pat Powers

In his 2022 3rd quarter FEC Report, Democrat US Senate candidate Bengs reported raising $193,997.19 against spending of $167,871.33, leaving him cash on hand of $54,335.13…. with a pre-existing debt of $20,000 to himself.

Uh oh.. This campaign is sinking fast, and $34k is hardly going to pay staff and overhead for the last month, much less get ads on TV, Social Media, direct mail, radio, newspapers.. etcetera and so on.

I think we can call this race over and done with, because Bengs hardly has money to move this campaign forward.

And another election winds down.

It seems to have been a very good fundraising quarter for Republican candidates in South Dakota. Alongside Senator Thune, Congressman Dusty Johnson also posted strong numbers:

Dusty Johnson 2022 3q FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

Congressman Johnson was able to boast $327,188.90 raised against $122,396.59 in expenses, leaving him $2,264,896.91 cash on hand to use to build towards his next race. (Because he certainly doesn’t have one now.)Congressman Dusty Johnson posts very good 3q FEC Report: $327k raised, $122k spent, $2.26M cash on hand

Is there a Democrat in the race for US Senate at this point? Because it seems that while Brian Bengs is busy playing on social media, US Senator John Thune is doing actual campaign things, and completely crushing it.

First and foremost in campaigning is raising money so you can run a race. And Senator Thune had a very, very good fundraising quarter:

US Sen John Thune Oct 2022 FEC Report by Pat Powers on Scribd

From the period of time from July 1 through September 30, Senator Thune raised an eye-popping $1.19 MILLION in the most recent fundraising quarter.  (Is that a new record for SD? Because it sounds as if it could be). Against this, Senator Thune spent $659,317.78 in campaign expenditures and refunds, leaving him $17,419,927.87 cash on hand.

Bengs does not have his FEC Report filed yet, but we’re waiting with great interest to see if he managed to raise 10% of what Senator Thune has.

Can you say a race is over when it never really began?   Because at this point, I don’t think there’s anything left to do except Brian Bengs’ concession speech.

If you recall a couple weeks ago, Democrat PUC Candidate Jeff Barth took great umbrage because he couldn’t see Chris Nelson’s sign disclaimer from the road.  Given all that sturm und drang over the size of a disclaimer that was always there, do you think Democrats are going to expend the same amount of energy over one of their own who actually forgot to include the disclaimer on the piece?

If you can find it, you’ve got better eyes than I.

Now if Democrats would only apply the same rules they demand of others for themselves.

Support for Summit Carbon Solutions Continues to Grow in South Dakota

• Company has successfully partnered with 370 South Dakota landowners to sign 585 easement agreements in the state, totaling 220 miles of the proposed pipeline project route.

• Summit Carbon Solutions continues to advance its project by submitting new filings with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

AMES, Iowa (October 13, 2022) – Support for Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon capture, transportation, and storage project continues to grow in South Dakota as the company has now partnered with 370 South Dakota landowners to sign 585 easement agreements. Those agreements account for 220 total miles of the proposed pipeline route in the state.

These partnerships are the result of dozens of public meetings with stakeholders and hundreds of meetings with landowners to introduce the project, answer questions, and receive feedback. Based on that feedback and information gathered during field surveys, the company made several adjustments to the proposed route of the project that were submitted today as supplemental information to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

“Since we announced our project last year, Summit Carbon Solutions has been committed to working in partnership with landowners, stakeholders, and communities to support farmers and the broader ag economy by opening new markets for ethanol producers,” Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank said. “Securing partnerships with 370 South Dakota landowners is a reflection of that commitment and the growing support for making investments today that will support economic growth long-term, while also generating substantial new revenues for local communities across the Midwest.”

Summit Carbon Solutions is partnering with 32 ethanol plants across the Midwest, including seven in South Dakota, to develop the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world. Through a nearly $800 million investment in South Dakota alone, these partner ethanol producers will be able to sell their product at a premium in the growing number of markets that have adopted low carbon fuel standards.California, the largest ethanol consuming state, and Canada, the largest U.S. ethanol importer, have both adopted policies that incentivize the use of low carbon fuels. Access to these markets is critical to the long-term viability of the ethanol industry that today purchases approximately 40% of all the corn grown in the United States and that remains a key driver of commodity prices and land values.

In addition to driving growth in the ethanol and agricultural industries, Summit Carbon Solutions will support local economies across South Dakota by investing an average of $44 million during construction in each of the counties where the project is located. Those dollars will flow back to hotels, restaurants, hardware stores and other local businesses to generate ongoing economic growth. After construction, according to a study by global accounting leader Ernst & Young, Summit Carbon Solutions will pay an average of $650,000 in new property taxes annually to every South Dakota county where the project is located, helping communities support critical local priorities such as schools, road construction, public safety, and more.

To learn more about Summit Carbon Solutions, please visit www.SummitCarbonSolutions.com.

To view the documents Summit Carbon Solutions submitted to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, please visit www.puc.sd.gov.

###

Governor Noem Leading on Cutting Food Sales Tax

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, Governor Kristi Noem issued the following statement on eliminating the sales tax on groceries:

“I have my pen ready to sign into law the repeal of the sales tax on groceries. The legislature needs a 2/3 vote to pass such a measure before legislative session. We have to get South Dakota families relief from Joe Biden’s inflation as soon as possible, and we cannot let this bill fail. It needs to pass. I’m glad Jamie Smith has followed my lead in supporting this tax cut, but he doesn’t know how to get it done or if he has the votes to do so. That’s not leadership. I plan to continue to educate legislators on the importance of this legislation.”

You can find Governor Noem’s pen here.

I have my pen ready to sign into law the repeal of the sales tax on groceries. The legislature needs a 2/3 vote to pass such a measure before legislative session. We have to get SD families relief from Biden’s inflation as soon as possible. We cannot let this bill fail. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/zBGfgsNZnt

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) October 12, 2022