From Bob Mercer:

A Facebook message from AFL-CIO Sioux Falls president Kooper Caraway today announced the labor group’s endorsement of Tatewin Means for the Democratic state attorney general nomination, according to a news release from her campaign.

— Bob Mercer (@pierremercer) June 7, 2018

Trump nominates Jon Kobes to Federal Judgeship
Sioux Falls Resident is Currently Serving as General Counsel to Sen. Rounds

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement on the nomination of Jonathan Kobes to be a circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Kobes currently serves as Rounds’ general counsel.

“Jon’s wide range of experiences in both the public and private sectors provides a strong platform for this role as a judge,” said Rounds. “A lifelong conservative, he believes a judge’s role is to make decisions based on the law as it is written, not to legislate from the bench. President Trump has done a tremendous job putting fair-minded, conservative judges on the bench, and nominating Jon Kobes upholds that standard. I’ve relied on Jon’s sound counsel and advice since coming to the Senate and look forward to supporting his nomination.”

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Delegation Introduces Bills to Allow Tribal Grant Schools to Focus Resources to Improve Education

Legislation would provide Federal Employee Health Benefits and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance eligibility for tribally operated grant schools

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today introduced Senate and House companion bills that would allow tribal grant schools to participate in Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) programs. This change would free up resources to improve recruiting and retention efforts for professional educators in rural communities by allowing schools to spend less on health care and more on education-specific items. The grant schools would be required to pay the government’s contribution toward the insurance premiums, and the employees would be responsible for the remaining balance.

“We continue to work to ensure students in tribal communities have access to quality education, but meeting that goal comes with challenges,” said Thune. “This legislation makes an important investment in tribal youth by enhancing employee retention efforts and allowing tribal schools to prioritize funding for tangible education items to improve students’ overall learning experience.”

“Our legislation would allow employees at South Dakota’s 19 tribal grant schools to be eligible for federal health insurance programs,” said Rounds. “Under this bill, the schools would be required to pay the government’s contribution toward insurance premiums, and the employee would pay the remaining balance. This will save the schools thousands of dollars and improve teacher and administrator retention rates at tribal grant schools, which is an important factor in student success.”

“A good teacher can open the door to opportunity, hope, and upward mobility for students,” said Noem. “In many tribal communities, however, retaining good teachers is a challenge. By easing the financial burden on schools, I’m hopeful we can help them retain teachers with enhanced employee benefits while also preserving more resources for the classroom.”

Currently, tribal schools are operated either directly by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE); by tribes, through Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) contracts; or through Tribally Controlled Schools Act (P.L. 100-297) grants, which are known as tribal grant schools. Currently, 129 schools nationwide operate as tribal grant schools, including 19 in South Dakota, while only one school operates through a 638 contract. BIE operates 53 tribal schools across the nation.

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Running for D9 Senate and getting badly beaten was a “gauge for another race?” I suspect Lora could have stuck a knife in an electrical outlet for a similar measure on how running another political race is going to go.

(Are we taking bets on how many days until Lora switches parties again?)

Hot off the State GOP Website:

South Dakota State Senator Brock Greenfield to Chair 2018 South Dakota Republican State Convention

South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Dan Lederman announced today that he has chosen South Dakota State Senator Brock Greenfield to serve as the Chairman and presiding officer over the 2018 Republican State Convention.

“I’m excited today to tell South Dakota Republicans that a steady and experienced hand will be in charge as we elect candidates and set Republican policy statements for the coming election cycle,” Lederman said.

Greenfield, who serves as the President Pro Tempore of the South Dakota State Senate, represents Brown, Clark, Hamlin, and Spink counties. At the age of 43, Brock is the elder statesmen of the State Legislature. He has been serving in the South Dakota Legislature since 2001, and of currently elected legislators, Greenfield has the longest continuous service.

Read it all here!

Congratulations to my friend Brock Greenfield on being named Chair!

Noem to Host Thank You Reception in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Kristi Noem will host a Thank You Reception in Rapid City on Friday, June 8, at 5:30PM. She looks to thank South Dakotans in person for their encouragement and support in the Republican primary election. The event is free and open to the press and public.

WHAT: Thank You Reception

DATE: Friday, June 8

TIME: 5:30PM-7:00PM (MT)

LOCATION: Holiday Inn Rapid City-Rushmore Plaza (505 N 5th Street, Rapid City)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This event is free and open to the public.

Americans for Prosperity Reiterates Pro-Trade, Anti-Tariff Priorities
Grassroots group highlights multi-year, multi-million-dollar campaign to promote trade, combat tariffs

PIERRE, S.D.—Americans for Prosperity-South Dakota (AFP-SD), one of 36 nationwide chapters of Americans for Prosperity, highlighted a new multi-year, multi-million-dollar initiative campaignfrom Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the LIBRE Initiative, and Americans for Prosperity, to champion the far-reaching benefits of trade and oppose tariffs and other barriers to it. The grassroots group also reiterated the importance of trade to South Dakota and its economy.

AFP-SD State Director Don Haggar had this to say about the effort:

“With agriculture being one of the biggest drivers of South Dakota’s economy, anything that moves to restrict our ability to trade our products is a non-starter for us. Not only would this be detrimental to our financial prosperity, it would put hardworking South Dakotans out of jobs and generally mean less opportunity and freedom for our friends and neighbors. At the end of the day, trade is a cornerstone to a free and open society, and we will not stand idly by to see it taken away.”

The campaign, launched on Monday will include paid media, activist education and grassroots mobilization, lobbying and policy analysis – all intended to transform the way Washington and the rest of the country considers and values trade with other nations. The organizations released a list of trade principles and policy recommendations which the campaign will advance.

To supplement this effort in South Dakota, AFP-SD is launching a digital ad campaign aimed at educating citizens and encouraging them to contact their lawmakers, urging them to support pro-trade policies. You can view the effort (and contact your lawmakers!) here.

Additionally, AFP sent a letter on Wednesday to Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) in support of legislation the senator introduced to require congressional approval of tariffs. The letter highlights the benefits of trade and the consequences of trade barriers. You can read the full release and letter here.

Background

Don Haggar’s op-ed on trade, tariffs, and a possible trade war ran in the Capital Journal.

AFP, Freedom Partners and The LIBRE Initiative Urge White House to Abandon Harmful Tariff Policy in Official Comment to USTR

Freedom Partners, AFP Oppose New Auto Tariffs

From the Rapid City Journal, Seth Tupper noticed something i was tracking, that the ultra-conservative wing of the GOP (The one that calls everyone else RINO’s) didn’t fare all that well in Tuesday’s elections:

As we have advertising contracts that have run their course, the SDWC has space available once again to help you put your message in front of our State’s opinion leaders and decision makers. An especially important proposition as we move into the Republican State Convention. It’s a great way to grab delegate’s attention, especially if you want to raise your profile with them, or to grab the attention of readers in the lead up to the fall election.

Advertising on the Dakotwarcollege.com website is based on a first come, first serve basis for the available positions.  Advertising slots on the right are 300 px wide up to 300 px tall, and may be either static image, animated .gif, or flash file, as long as the file size is within acceptable file parameters, does not impede the loading of the website, or interfere with existing code.  All ads run through-site, and are not rotated in their positions.

Information on ad prices, ad positions, and required ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here.

And if it needs to be mentioned, I’d encourage you to visit our long list of advertisers, and check out their websites, such as the South Dakota Bankers Association, the South Dakota GOP, United States Senator John Thune, Americans for Prosperity SD Chapter, Gubernatorial Candidate Kristi Noem, Jason Ravnsborg for Attorney General, and Dusty Johnson for Congress

And while I’m on the subject, for all you newly minted candidates who may be looking for parade materials such as stickers, banners, car magnets, and the like, Dakota Campaign Store is open for business, and available to serve the campaign material needs of Republican and non-partisan campaigns.

The tough part about having two good candidates for Governor is that you have to pick one. And South Dakota Republicans pulled the lever once again for Congresswoman Kristi Noem in droves last night.

This was not the squeaker many predicted it to be. It was far more decisive. Noem built her numbers up and down the I-29 corridor (missing Lake County) and moved west.

County	Marty Jackley	Kristi Noem	Total	Kristi %
Aurora	89	277	366	76%
Beadle	615	818	1,433	57%
Bennett	98	226	324	70%
Bon Homme	381	814	1,195	68%
Brookings (Vote Center)	1,129	1,448	2,577	56%
Brown (Vote Center)	1,938	2,288	4,226	54%
Brule	217	386	603	64%
Buffalo	29	48	77	62%
Butte	808	804	1,612	50%
Campbell	172	254	426	60%
Charles Mix	204	677	881	77%
Clark	225	388	613	63%
Clay	341	490	831	59%
Codington	1,577	2,496	4,073	61%
Corson	90	86	176	49%
Custer	763	1,028	1,791	57%
Davison	956	1,359	2,315	59%
Day	240	396	636	62%
Deuel	241	446	687	65%
Dewey	127	142	269	53%
Douglas	178	609	787	77%
Edmunds	200	305	505	60%
Fall River	498	844	1,342	63%
Faulk	340	466	806	58%
Grant	321	609	930	65%
Gregory	183	457	640	71%
Haakon	214	296	510	58%
Hamlin	454	1,064	1,518	70%
Hand	351	404	755	54%
Hanson	116	276	392	70%
Harding	150	199	349	57%
Hughes (Vote Center)	2,401	1,663	4,064	41%
Hutchinson	436	944	1,380	68%
Hyde (Vote Center)	118	201	319	63%
Jackson	156	254	410	62%
Jerauld	99	226	325	70%
Jones	140	217	357	61%
Kingsbury	533	707	1,240	57%
Lake	765	656	1,421	46%
Lawrence	1,668	1,609	3,277	49%
Lincoln	2,599	3,565	6,164	58%
Lyman	236	382	618	62%
Marshall	206	270	476	57%
McCook	225	497	722	69%
McPherson	232	291	523	56%
Meade	2,363	1,892	4,255	44%
Mellette	87	112	199	56%
Miner	89	144	233	62%
Minnehaha	6,228	8,385	14,613	57%
Moody	204	312	516	60%
Oglala Lakota	28	53	81	65%
Pennington	7,942	7,426	15,368	48%
Perkins	228	334	562	59%
Potter (Vote Center)	318	445	763	58%
Roberts	335	473	808	59%
Sanborn	83	230	313	73%
Spink	509	687	1,196	57%
Stanley	316	345	661	52%
Sully (Vote Center)	195	206	401	51%
Todd	107	131	238	55%
Tripp	383	578	961	60%
Turner	483	821	1,304	63%
Union	483	867	1,350	64%
Walworth	431	612	1,043	59%
Yankton (Vote Center)	1,140	1,422	2,562	56%
Ziebach	58	80	138	58%
TOTALS	45,069	57,437	102,506	56%

Attorney General Marty Jackley performed well in the Hills and in Lake County, but voter familiarity with Noem since her victory over Stephanie Herseth Sandlin paid off. Noem’s numbers were consistently high, and provided a margin of victory that defied the pollsters. They’ve voted for her time and again, and last night they placed their trust in her to be their next Governor.