Petitioning is closed, and here’s what’s in so far. We will see more coming, as stragglers show up in the mail. I’ve got 22 Republican and 1 Democrat Primary for the House…

And in the Senate, I have 15 primary elections..

And I’m sure there’s still more to come..

Thune to Oppose Judge Jackson’s Nomination to the Supreme Court
“I can only vote to confirm a justice whom I believe will respect the separation of powers and the limited role of a justice and refuse to allow her personal opinions to influence her decisions on the bench.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

From Dakota News Now comes Spencer Gosch’s announcement for running for Senate, where he claims to have led “the state and the legislature through Covid 19, three stimulus packages, redistricting, and economically record setting years for the state of South Dakota.”

After much speculation, current Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch (R-Glenham) confirmed he’ll be running for Senate in 2022. pic.twitter.com/QJYKLzrULQ

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) March 29, 2022

I guess that’s one way to view it.

Gov. Noem Appoints Michael Houdyshell as Secretary of Revenue

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she is appointing Michael Houdyshell to serve as Secretary of the Department of Revenue (DOR), effective April 1, 2022.

“During Michael’s time at the Department of Revenue, he has helped maintain South Dakota’s status as one of the least taxed states in the nation,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I trust that he will continue that focus as he serves the people of South Dakota in his new role as Secretary.”

Michael has served at DOR for 11 years. He has served as the Chief Legal Counsel of the Department of Revenue since June 2018. Previously, he spent seven years as the Director of the Property and Special Taxes Division with the Department of Revenue and three years as Staff Attorney for the Department of Public Safety.

“I am honored to serve Governor Noem and the citizens of South Dakota as Revenue secretary,” said Michael Houdyshell. “Fair and consistent tax administration is vital to the economic stability of the state. I have spent over the last decade of my career working to ensure the department is treating all taxpayers equitably, regardless of whether they are a small business, a Fortune 500 company, a property owner, or a regulated industry, and I intend to continue to do so in this exciting new role.”

Michael obtained a bachelor’s degree in History from Black Hills State University and a J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law. He has been a licensed attorney in South Dakota since April 2007 and is active in the State Bar Association.

Michael and his wife Hannah live in Pierre with their three children. You can find a picture of Michael here.

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Gov. Noem Appoints Joan Adam as Secretary of Health

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she is appointing Joan Adam to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH), effective immediately. Joan has been serving in this role in an interim capacity since January.

“Joan has done an excellent job serving the people of South Dakota in her many years at the Department of Health,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “The Department has continued to run smoothly during her time as Interim Secretary, and I look forward to continuing to work with her to keep our state healthy.”

Joan has served the people of South Dakota at DOH for a combined 20 years. Before taking on the role of Interim Secretary, she served as Division Director for Administration, where she oversaw the SD Public Health Laboratory, Correctional Healthcare Services, the Offices of Vital Records and Health Statistics, and Health Information Technology. Prior to that, she worked as a program administrator in health promotion and disease prevention, including as a Division Director.

“I am honored that Governor Noem has put her trust in me to lead the Department of Health,” said Secretary Joan Adam. “It is a privilege to work alongside our state’s dedicated public health professionals.  I look forward to continuing the important mission of the department which is to protect and improve the health of every South Dakotan.”

Joan and her husband Karl live in Pierre, SD, where they have raised their five children.  Their family also includes a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and one grandson. You can find a picture of Joan here.

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The candidates are coming in this morning, and two surprises already. Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch has filed for Senate, as has former State Rep. Les Heinemann and State Rep. Tom Pischke, both for D25.

This is going to be interesting…

Yesterday, after Congressional Challenger Taffy Howard had boasted in a facebook post that “We crushed Dusty on signatures, now let’s crush him at the ballot box,” I took a more critical look and it sure seemed there was an apparent disconnect with regards to the number of petition signatures filed according to the Secretary of State versus what Taffy Howard was claiming on Facebook.  (I used charts and everything).

And it looks like I greatly vexed the Congressional challenger, because under the post, I had this scathing comment left on my website.

With her being so firm on her declaration of petition signature victory and “crushing Dusty,” as she announced, it opens up an opportunity to explore other aspects of her campaign and whether she is crushing it.. or, is it possible that she’s actually flushing it?

So, here we go – Taffy Howard versus Dusty Johnson: Flushing it, or Crushing it?

So, looking at a few areas, it looks like there’s maybe one tie in the area of signature collection. But, I’m not seeing any evidence of crushing on Taffy’s part in attendance records, fundraising, or endorsements.

We’ll continue to watch and see if Taffy announces any more wins, and be sure to look at them with a critical eye.

Kristi for Governor Statement On House Impeachment Committee’s Failures

STATEMENT
March 28, 2022

Kristi for Governor Spokesman Joe Desilets released the following statement in response to the House Impeachment Committee’s recommendation against the impeachment of Attorney General Ravnsborg:

Public Safety Secretary Price summarized the situation in front of the House Select Committee on Impeachment perfectly when he stated “The Attorney General’s actions throughout the investigation, the findings from our review of the crash events, along with the context provided by the pre- and post-crash behaviors draw the conclusion that he is unfit to hold the position as the chief law enforcement officer for the state of South Dakota.”

By not recommending his removal from office, these House members have made it clear that they are more concerned with the protection of one of their own than they are about the conduct of our state’s top law enforcement officer and holding him to account. The people of South Dakota deserve better. The full House will have the opportunity in the coming days to correct the failures of this committee and I hope that they take their duty seriously and do what is right in this matter.

The House Committee on impeachment has spoken.. er.. well, they issued their report with little to no public discussion, with the recommendation of “Do Not Impeach” on a party line vote.

I’ll post the report as soon as it’s available.

The House as a body can choose to move forward and reverse the committee. But we have to wait until April 12. And we’ll want to see what’s in the report.

Governor Noem Announces Formation of South Dakota County Leaders Coalition and Endorsements From 27 County Commissioners

PRESS RELEASE – March 28, 2022

Pierre, SD – Today, Governor Noem’s campaign announced the creation of their coalition of South Dakota County Leaders. Along with the creation of this coalition, Governor Noem’s campaign released the initial list of county commissioners endorsing Governor Noem and forming this coalition. This follows the initial rounds of endorsements from state legislators and county sheriffs that have been previously announced. Governor Noem’s campaign will be growing this coalition throughout the campaign, adding additional current and former elected officials at the county and local levels across South Dakota that endorse and support her re-election campaign.

Governor Noem stated the following in making this announcement:

“The partnership between state and local government is crucial to an efficient and effective government. I’ve been proud to partner with our county leaders across South Dakota throughout my first term, and Lieutenant Governor Rhoden and I are proud to have their support in our re-election.”

Lincoln County Commissioner Joel Arends stated the following about the endorsements of himself and his fellow county commissioners:

“Governor Noem kept South Dakota open for business when other states around us were shutting down. Her leadership on local issues such as economic development, business expansion, and workforce development are key to strong counties and communities. Governor Noem has been a great supporter of our counties and I am proud to endorse her re-election for Governor of South Dakota.”

List of Endorsing Commissioners (Ordered by County)

Beadle – Denis Drake
Beadle – Doug Ramsell
Beadle – Rick Benson
Beadle – Tom Hansen
Brookings – Larry Jensen
Brookings – Mike Bartley
Brown – Doug Fjeldheim
Brown – Duane Sutton
Brown – Mike Wiese
Charles Mix – Colin Soukup
Clay – Travis Mockler
Codington – Lee Gabel
Codington – Myron Johnson
Codington – Brenda Hanten
Custer – Craig Hindle
Davison – John Claggett
Hughes – Randy Brown
Hughes – Tom Rounds
Lawrence – Bob Ewing
Lawrence – Brandon Flanagan
Lawrence – Randall Rosenau
Lawrence – Randy Deibert
Lawrence – Richard Sleep
Lincoln – Joel Arends
Lincoln – Tiffani Landeen
Pennington – Gary Drewes
Pennington – Lloyd LaCroix

For any local and county elected officials that would like to join Governor Noem’s South Dakota County Leaders coalition, contact Chris Hupke at Chris@KristiForGovernor.com.