Attorney General Jackley Releases Final Ballot Explanation on Proposal Requiring 60 Percent Approval for Constitutional Amendments and Revisions

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has released the final ballot explanation for a Constitutional Amendment proposed by the State Legislature that would require any future proposed Constitutional Amendment or Revision receive an affirmative vote of at least 60 percent of the votes cast to be approved. The proposed amendment will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Attorney General Jackley takes no position on any such proposal for purposes of the ballot explanation. As required by law, he has provided a fair and neutral explanation on the initiated Constitutional Amendment to help assist the voters as required by state law. The sponsors of the proposed Constitutional Amendment were Rep. John Hughes and Sen. Sue Peterson which was approved by the 2025 South Dakota Legislature.

The Attorney General’s explanation was finalized after a review of all the comments received during the 10-day comment period on the Attorney General’s draft explanation. Two comments were received by the deadline.

Language for the final initiated ballot measure explanation can be found here.

For more information regarding ballot measures, please visit the Secretary of State’s website.

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Austin Hoffman Campaign Announces Endorsements from Former Attorneys General Mark Vargo and Roger Tellinghuisen

Hoffman Says Support Reflects Need for Independent Leadership, not Political Establishment Control

EUREKA, S.D. — Austin Hoffman, Republican candidate for South Dakota Attorney General, announced today that he has received endorsements of former South Dakota Attorneys General Mark Vargo and Roger Tellinghuisen.

Vargo served as Pennington County State’s Attorney from 2013 to 2022 and as South Dakota Attorney General from 2022 to 2023. Tellinghuisen served as South Dakota Attorney General from 1987 to 1991.

Vargo praised Hoffman’s character and judgment, noting that he has demonstrated a “strong moral compass and an ability to seek out and consider all citizens and then make his own decisions,” calling that measured collaboration a rare quality in modern politics.

Tellinghuisen emphasized Hoffman’s fairness and dedication to the principles of justice. He said at a time when public trust in the justice system is strained, the Attorney General’s Office requires a leader whose integrity is unwavering. “Austin Hoffman embodies those qualities,” Tellinghuisen said.

Hoffman said he is honored to receive support from two former Attorneys General who understand the demands of the office and recognize the need for steady, independent leadership in the Attorney General’s Office. According to Hoffman, the role requires listening, following the law, and making decisions based on what is right for the people of South Dakota.

“South Dakotans do not need an Attorney General who is chosen by insiders or controlled by the political establishment,” Hoffman said. “They need an Attorney General who understands that the law belongs to the people, not the powerful. My commitment is to serve the citizens of South Dakota, protect their rights, support law enforcement, defend the rule of law and put the law above politics.”

“This campaign is about restoring trust and making sure the Attorney General’s Office works for the people of South Dakota,” Hoffman said. “I am grateful for the support of Mr. Vargo and Mr. Tellinghuisen, and I will continue working to earn the trust and support of Republicans across this state.”

Hoffman, a Eureka native, announced his candidacy late last year. He currently serves as McPherson County State’s Attorney and sits on both the South Dakota Open Meetings Commission and the South Dakota Board of Elections.

The Republican nominee for South Dakota Attorney General will be selected at the Republican convention at the end of June 2026.

For more information about Austin Hoffman, visit HoffmanForAG.com.

Senator Tim Reed Recognized for Legislative Effectiveness During Freshman Senate Term

BROOKINGS, S.D. — State Senator Tim Reed of Brookings has been recognized as one of the most effective lawmakers in the South Dakota Senate during the 2023–2024 legislative session, according to the newly released State Legislative Effectiveness Scores from the Center for Effective Lawmaking.

The report ranked Reed third among all Republican Senators in South Dakota with a Legislative Effectiveness Score (SLES) of 2.35. The report also identified Reed as the highest-performing freshman Senator in the state and named him to the prestigious “Above Expectations” category for first-term lawmakers.

The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a nationally recognized research organization, evaluates legislators based on fifteen metrics that measure a lawmaker’s ability to advance legislation through the legislative process and successfully enact laws.

According to the report, Senator Reed introduced 19 bills during the 2023–2024 legislative session. Of those bills, 18 received committee action, 13 advanced beyond committee, 12 passed the Senate, and 10 became law.

Since that freshman Senate term, Reed has continued to focus on legislation aimed at transparency, public safety, healthcare, and victim services. During the 2025–2026 legislative term, he successfully passed legislation to provide continued funding support for victim services programs, including rape crisis centers and domestic abuse shelters. He also passed legislation requiring boards and governing bodies to annually review South Dakota’s open meeting laws and legislation requiring hospitals to maintain policies and procedures when sexual assault victims present themselves at a hospital emergency department.

Reed is currently running unopposed for the 2027–2028 South Dakota State Senate term representing District 7.

“I’m honored by this recognition,” said Reed. “Public service is about working hard, building relationships, listening to people, and finding practical solutions that improve our communities and state. I’ve always believed governing should focus on results, and I appreciate the opportunity to work with colleagues from across South Dakota to get meaningful legislation across the finish line.”

The report also highlighted South Dakota’s strong record of integrating freshman legislators into the lawmaking process, noting that freshman Senators in South Dakota perform significantly above the national average in legislative effectiveness.

Before joining the Senate, Reed served six years in the South Dakota House of Representatives and previously spent 13 years in Brookings city government, including eight years as Mayor of Brookings.

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I heard both privately, and as noted in the Dakota Scout this evening that State Auditor candidate Dave Barranco has been diagnosed with and treating for cancer in recent weeks:

“I have undergone another battery of tests, and the results are beyond dispute: I have cancer,” the 53-year-old attorney-turned-elected official said, opening up about a months long health battle that recently worsened.

and..

He is the only declared GOP candidate ahead of next month’s South Dakota Republican Party convention in Rapid City. His term on the council is set to expire in July.

When asked what the diagnosis means for his candidacy, Barranco indicated that discussions are ongoing with his medical care team, family and inner circle.

Read the entire story here.

Please keep David and his family in your prayers as they work for David’s recovery.

Bringing up the rear, gubernatorial wannabe Jon Hansen underlines that despite all the extra time he had to raise money being the first one in the race, he just could not get shifted out of the “legislative” gear on his campaign camper.

Jon Hansen Pre Primary by Pat Powers

Raising $355,300.70 in the last months, with 1/4 of that coming from pro-hansen political action committees (that we’re still waiting to see), Hansen spent $245,276.02, leaving him $163,918.65 for the last two weeks of the campaign.

And sorry, but I’m not sure this would make the grade in a congressional race anymore. I don’t think one could get over the hump in an attorney general race in the fall with this.

Stick a fork in this last place fundraising finish. I think you can retire this retriever, because he’s done hunting.

Governor Larry Rhoden has filed his pre-primary report in the few days left until the primary election. And while it’s nothing to sneeze at, it shows that his campaign could have benefitted by an earlier campaign kickoff:

Larry Rhoden Pre-Primary by Pat Powers

Mustering his other affiliated committees kicking in $159k from his DC PAC (Free American Fund), and the Strong Safe and Free PAC passing along another $114k, Governor Rhoden added another $571,853.09 to his existing total of $511,815 to enable him to spend $914,052.53 on the primary, leaving $169,616,49 for the last 2 weeks of the election.

But compared to Toby Doeden blowing millions from his own pocket, as well as the millions that Dusty Johnson has been able to accumulate over the years, Governor Rhoden’s campaign is quickly running out of cash when at least two of his other opponents can open up the spigot even further.

That poses a problem for our state’s chief executive going into the last weeks of the campaign.  If he had announced earlier, and raised more cash, this might have been a different race.  But with 2 weeks to go, $170k in the bank might put him at a disadvantage.

Keep watching the airwaves. We’re almost to the finish line.

The South Dakota Republican Party has filed their pre-primary report with the Secretary of State. And while there’a glimmer of hope for convention happening, their raffle fundraiser seems to be a bit of a bust.

First, the report:

2026SDGOP_PrePrimary by Pat Powers

$1670.87 in unitemized donations, and $1450 in itemized. $3120.87.   As a political party, when that’s what your donations have been over the last 6 months… that’s not good. And wasn’t the chairman talking about how they were supposed to get $50k from the RNC?  Looks like they got $17,500.

Here’s where the outlook gets especially dreary..

It appears they’re reporting 30k raised from convention registration.. all of which are likely to go back out in convention expenses in the next report.   But check out what they raised (or didn’t raise) from the raffle fundraiser that was supposed to generate significant funds. $15,812.  That’s…. well that what one so-so fundraiser would bring in.. but there are no more fundraisers besides that one.   Party fundraising typically is an ongoing process. Not “1 and done.”‘

It looks like they added $54k to the $70k they had in the bank. Which in an election year isn’t really that much.  Especially when you consider that that only raised $20 in the federal account for this month’s report.

I’m not sure that what they raised will get them through the convention, much less this fall’s election.

The PAC report for House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach has now been filed, and it shows that he and relatives, and like-minded allies have dumped over $50,000 into moving the South Dakota legislature even further right than it already is, as Odenbach hands out money largely $1000 at a time.

Including $10,000 he’s put in to unseat his fellow District 31 legislator, Senator Randy Deibert.

You can read the report here yourself:

Liberty Tree Pac by Pat Powers

Plus an additional report filed today..

The list of recipients reads as a “who’s who” of the hard right on the ballot this year, both incumbents and candidates.. including those who have some serious flaws in representing South Dakotans:

First off the list is the committee for John Teupel, whose candidacy is very, very seriously flawed as I’ve noted in the past,

Legislators didn’t like talking about the measure at all on the floor because of the topic dealing with some of the worst sexual deviants, but Representative Teupel got up and gave his speech. While he claimed he “wasn’t rising in opposition of the bill,” he did have a very detailed three point notation of his “concerns.” #1, “With a class 6 felony, they usually have an identified victim of the crime.”  #2 “With the prosecution of a crime like this,  there’s not really a plaintiff you can put on a witness stand.”  And there was also concern #3..

 

 

Concern #3 was the concern that kids who were “sexually experimenting” would be caught in something like this as a young age, and be labeled permanently as a sex offender, when it might have “been a phase that they would have outgrown.”

Teupel went on declare that he’s not “opposed to the measure” but “has concerns about the legislation.”  And despite his concerns, he actually was an opponent, and went on to be one of the votes against making bestiality a crime.

Read that here.

Sorry. But when as a candidate your record includes advocacy against making horse rape a felony, .. hard nope on returning John to the legislature.   Yet, supporting a brand of Muskrat Love we don’t write songs about was worth $10,000 of PAC funding from Scott.

Same for legislative candidate and convicted felon Amber Werdel.. Sorry, former convicted felon, since the pardon and all…

She gets $1000 from the Liberty Tree PAC.

Seriously? We need more felons in Pierre? Yet, this is who Scott wants to add to the roster of the South Dakota House of Representatives.

This years’ legislative primaries do offer some choices to make when people hit the voting booth. And despite what the House Majority Leader wants, people may need to take a harder look at some of those who legislative leadership wants.

If only I had a million dollars....  Well, I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be throwing it away on running for South Dakota Governor to feed my ego like Toby Doeden is.

Because in the latest campaign finance report filed today, Toby disclosed that he’s thrown another $2 million dollars on the bonfire of his vanities as he pursues trying to pretend he’s capable of being in charge of the state:

Toby Doeden Pre-primary Report by Pat Powers

This comes at the same time as from all of his supporters all across the state, he’s only managed to raise $10,856.56.

I haven’t seen the other reports yet, but I feel pretty safe if I wagered that’s going to be even worse than Jon Hansen’s fundraising total.

But I suppose you don’t need people to support you when you feel you can just buy the job.

This is an interesting item in District 9 Primary Candidate Megan Tschetter’s campaign finance report:

No, not the $1000 from Majority Leader Scott Odenbach and his Liberty Tree PAC, as he tries to pick his membership.. But the $250 from the Davison County Republicans Central Committee. They absolutely should not be playing in primaries.

That’s what the former 32-year Democrat in charge of the Republican Party said. (not that he follows his own rule):

“not appropriate for the party to influence the election process.”  I would certainly think that would include donating to candidates.

UPDATE: 

Here’s another instance where they donated $250 to a candidate in the primary – Tim Begalka, running in a contested primary in District 4 – a district no where near their own..