Press Release: L No Campaign’s Dark Money Exposed

L No Campaign’s Dark Money Exposed
No on L Ads Warn of Outside Billionaires. Campaign Finance Reports Tell a Different Story

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The No on Amendment L campaign has spent more than $1.5 million dollars claiming out-of-state billionaires trying to buy influence over South Dakota’s state Constitution. Their television ads claim that “out-of-state billionaires and their lobbyists” are the proponents behind Amendment L.

The L No campaign committees’ financial disclosure statement filed this week raises serious questions about the integrity and truthfulness of the Amendment L opposition group.

According to reports filed with the South Dakota Secretary of State, the L No committee has raised more than $2.2 million. Nearly all of it came from two Washington, D.C.-based organizations: The Fairness Project, which contributed $1.697 million, and the National Education Association, which contributed $500,000.

Proponents of Amendment L led by the Save our South Dakota Constitution committee, reported just $47,458.80, with no disclosed contribution from a California billionaire. Instead, South Dakotans have fully funded the effort.

“South Dakota voters deserve an open and honest debate about Amendment L, and so far our opponents have failed the test,” said Rhonda Milstead, treasurer of the Save Our South Dakota Constitution ballot question committee. “The finance reports show the truth about who’s funding each side of this issue–hardworking South Dakotans asking for a yes vote, and out-of-state pro-abortion radicals asking for a no vote.”

The Fairness Project’s involvement goes well beyond South Dakota. Looking back to the 2024 elections, the organization contributed more than $22 million to campaigns supporting pro-abortion-rights constitutional amendments in Florida, Missouri, Arizona, Montana, and Nebraska.

That included $16.4 million for Florida’s abortion amendment campaign. In Missouri, where voters approved abortion rights in 2024, The Fairness Project has since contributed nearly $12 million toward defeating a 2026 measure that would repeal those protections.

“It’s clear to me that Amendment L is the most important Yes vote for pro-life South Dakotans to consider in 2026,” said Rep. John Hughes. “The Fairness Project wants radical pro-abortion language in South Dakota’s Constitution. Right now, they’ve spent nearly $2 million to make it easy to pass their radical agenda. South Dakotans need to stand up and vote yes on Amendment L.”

The Fairness Project is a Washington-based nonprofit that isn’t required to publicly disclose all its donors, so we do not know who its billionaire donors are. Its political spending is documented. The original source of every dollar is not.

The Yes on L committee believes voters deserve to know who is financing the messages they see on television. The latest reports provide a clear comparison between the two campaigns’ disclosed fundraising. The No effort is almost solely funded by out-of-state organizations, while the Yes campaign is fully funded by fellow South Dakotans.

South Dakotans can draw their own conclusions. But the debate over outside money should begin with the financial records, not misleading television ads.