From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader editorial section, the Argus has endorsed Kristi Noem for Governor:

U.S. Representative Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley have played prominent roles in public service for nearly two decades and are well-known to voters. Their challenge was to prove that they were best suited to tackle a new role as chief executive of the state and distinguish themselves from their opponent.

and.

Both GOP candidates have vowed to transform Pierre if they are elected governor, but only Noem can turn the page by her very presence. She can make history as the state’s first female governor while bringing a different style of leadership, and we believe she is the best choice for the Republican nomination.

and..

In a high-stakes showdown for the GOP nomination, one candidate offers the possibility of a bold new vision in state governance that might be too enticing to pass up. That candidate is Kristi Noem.

Read it all here.

From Lincoln County Chair Betty Otten comes a post about one person she’s supporting on Tuesday, and why it’s important to have good people in the role of legislator, and precinct committeeperson:

The Fitzgerald for Attorney General campaign people sent the link for this video to me the other day, (without notes or context), so I can assume they’re hoping I’ll post it:

Noem Attacks Community Leaders who Endorsed Jackley

SIOUX FALLS, SD: On Thursday, Attorney General Marty Jackley received the endorsement of more than 20 Sioux Falls area community leaders who are uniting behind his conservative message:

• Former Sioux Falls Mayor Dave Munson
• Former Sioux Falls Mayor Gary Hanson
• Senate Majority Leader Blake Curd
• Sen. Jack Kolbeck
• Rep. Greg Jamison
• Rep. Mike Stevens
• Former House Majority Leader Bill Peterson
• Former Senate Majority Leader Russ Olson
• Former Rep. Joel Dykstra
• Former Sen. David Omdahl
• Former Assistant Attorney General Paige Wilbur Bock
• Former Watertown Police Chief Jo Vitek
• Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman
• Retired State Sergeant Major Les Cummings
• Marine Veteran and Business Leader Gary Van Regenmorter
• Crooks Mayor Jamie Rounds
• Heartland Director of Economic Development Casey Crabtree
• Russ Janklow, Johnson Janklow Abdallah, LLP
• Todd Meierhenry, Meierhenry Sargent LLP

Despite Congresswoman Noem’s dismissal of these individuals as “Pierre politicians,” both in a written statement and in her debate remarks, Jackley is standing beside their service.

Noem said at the debate, “I knew all the people that were there supporting him at the press conference—they were all lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, people from Pierre.”

In fact, none of the supporters are from Pierre, although some are citizen legislators who serve their constituents in the state capital.

Their honorable biographies speak louder than her attacks.

Gary Van Regenmorter is a United States Marine who served his country in Vietnam.

Les Cummings is a former State Sergeant Major who trained our South Dakota National Guard members for war.

Former Watertown Police Chief Jo Vitek is a selfless public servant who worked every day to keep the people of her community safe.

These are the good, honorable people who lead by example every day in South Dakota.

Watch the full endorsement video here.

Thune: One Million Jobs Since Tax Reform Passed
“Today’s jobs report is more evidence of an economy that is growing again …”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement regarding the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ announcement that the economy added 223,000 jobs in May, bringing the unemployment rate to the lowest rate in 18 years.

“Americans struggled too long in a sluggish economy that lacked opportunities for those seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Today’s jobs report is more evidence of an economy that is growing again, which is good news for hardworking Americans. When the Republican-led Senate passed tax reform, there were estimates this historic legislation would create nearly 1 million jobs for the American people. Today we can say that we delivered, as over 1 million new jobs have been created since the passage of tax reform. We will continue to pursue a pro-worker, pro-growth agenda that allows the economy to thrive and Americans to secure the jobs they need.”

###

Noem Announces Statewide All In Tour

In the days leading up to the June 5 Republican Primary election, Kristi Noem will take to the road as part of her “All In Tour.”

Aberdeen
Sunday, June 3 – 12:00PM
Wylie Park (2301 24th Avenue NW, Aberdeen)

Mobridge
Sunday, June 3 – 3:00PM
City Park (on Main Street)

Rapid City
Sunday, June 3 – 7:00PM (MT)
Rapid City Campaign Headquarters (1739 W Main Street, Rapid City)

Chamberlain
Monday, June 4 – 10:00AM
Veterans Park (just off Exit 260)

Yankton
Monday, June 4 – 1:30PM
Yankton Riverside Park, Picnic Shelter 2

Sioux Falls
Monday, June 4 – 4:30PM
Holiday Inn Downtown (100 W 8th Street, Sioux Falls)

Brookings
Monday, June 4 – 6:45PM
Pioneer Park (525 1st Street S, Brookings)

Watertown
Monday, June 4 – 8:15PM
Foursquare Church (1120 4th Street NE, Watertown)

I just had someone send me this analysis of votes in the 2018 South Dakota Legislature, and it’s kind of interesting if you think about it.

Last month, we had the Citizens for Liberty scorecard, which cherry-picked certain votes (the vast majority that the Citizens for Liberty faux-conservative group had not bothered to testify on), which showed three legislators ranking higher than any others:

After reading about this list, a correspondent sent a list of votes over which has a list of bills where the Senators receiving the highest ranking on the cherry-picked scorecard had a high correlation on other votes taken in the 2018 State Legislature. Unfortunately… it had their votes on certain bills where the Democrats largely block voted:

BILL #	DEMS	Nelson	Russell	Jensen	Total Vote Count	Others:
SB20	NO	NO	NO	NO	22-13-0	Klumb, Maher, Otten, Kolbeck
HB1006	NO	NO	NO	NO	21-11-3	Youngberg, White
SB213	YEA	YEA	YEA	YEA	13-22-0	Greenfield, Maher, Tapio, Novstrup
HB 1014	NO	NO	EXCUSED	NO	24-10-1	Maher, Tapio, Partridge, Cronin
SB133	YEA	YEA	YEA	YEA	11-24-02	Klumb, Tapio
SB 54	NO	NO	EXCUSED	YEA	25-9-1	Tapio, Soholt
SB 81	NO	NO	NO	NO	25-8-2
SB 128	NO	YEA	NO	NO	27-8-0
SB 214	NO	NO	NO	EXCUSED	22-7-6	Greenfield, Tapio
SB 133	YEA	YEA	YEA	YEA	11-24-02	Klumb, Tapio
SB 54	NO	NO	EXCUSED	YEA	25-9-1	Tapio, Soholt
HB 1114	NO	NO	YEA	NO	27-6-2
HB 1140	NO	NO	NO	NO	23-10-2	Ewing, Kolbeck, Monroe
HJR 1004	NO	YEA	NO	NO	27-8-0
HB 1121	NO	YEA	NO	NO	22-13-0	Greenfield, Maher, Otten, Wiik, Monroe, Partridge
HB 1007	NO	NO	NO	NO	21-13-1	Otten

…So, this scorecard has the people at the top of the cherry-picked scorecard winners as voting with Dem Legislators?  Are they trying to say that you can be so far-right, you’re left?

Now, I have no assurances on the completeness of this list where Dems block-voted against the GOP. But it is a good lesson that a lot of these lists are subjective.

One list might show that some people are super-conservative, such as the obviously cherry-picked CFL list. Another might question where the same people’s loyalties lie based on how often they’re voting with the Democrat caucus based on another list.

I think the moral of the story is to spend less time picking votes to make up fake scorecards so people can claim they’re more conservative than others. Because someone else’s scorecard might question where your political loyalties lie.

One should worry about one’s own values instead of calling into question someone else’s.

Just had this pop up when I was reading the Rapid City Journal online tonight:

From the Rapid City Journal, Seth Tupper is pointing out that there seem to be maybe too close a relation between candidate for Congress & Secretary of State Shantel Krebs, and the super PAC currently engaged in attacking her opponent for the congressional seat, Dusty Johnson:

Connections between an out-of-state political action committee and U.S. House candidate Shantel Krebs have provoked questions of propriety.

Coordination between candidates and super PACs is prohibited, but the Krebs campaign is working with a national political consulting firm, Axiom Strategies, which has a chief operating officer who also appears to be the treasurer of a super PAC called Hold Washington Accountable. And the super PAC began running nearly $30,000 worth of ads this week against Krebs’ main opponent, Dusty Johnson, in South Dakota’s Republican U.S. House primary.

And…

Krebs campaign spokeswoman Kate Kuenzle denied any such coordination.

“As you know, campaigns cannot coordinate with outside groups,” she wrote in an email. “We have no affiliation with the group you mentioned.”

But there are connections between the Krebs campaign and the Hold Washington Accountable super PAC through Axiom Strategies.

and…

Yet on Wednesday, Hold Washington Accountable filed a notice that it spent $29,920 on a “media buy” to oppose Johnson. The expense was paid to “Ax Media,” which has an address in Kansas City that matches the address of the Kansas City office of Axiom Strategies.

The expense appears to have supported a television advertisement accusing Johnson of improper overuse of state-owned airplanes while he was chief of staff to Gov. Dennis Daugaard — a claim that Axiom Strategies pitched to media outlets, including the Rapid City Journal, last week. And the Krebs campaign has been making similar claims in its own campaign advertising.

Read the entire article here.

From YouTube, Attorney General Marty Jackley has launched a new commercial accusing Kristi Noem of not being Trumpy enough: