Reports noting some GOP County groups went outside of their mandate and were playing in primary elections.

Within the Republican Party, the State and County parties have generally observed the guiding principle of not getting involved in primary elections.

Except as we look at the campaign finance reports for the past 2 years filed today for county political organizations, in addition to the party badly needing a new chairman it appears that they may need to make an official addition to state party bylaws. Because there are some bad actors among the Republican county groups playing in primaries. At least, according to campaign finance reports these groups are filing with the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Noting a few examples running around out there, let’s start with the Bon Homme Republican Central Committee, as chaired by Stu Cvrk:

Looks like they donated to Donna Olson for Senate and Tanner Hento for House. Neither one survived the primary, yet sometime in the last two years they received a check from the county group. As funded in part by the candidates who did win (Sen. Schoenfish, Reps Peterson and Bahmuller) who were probably pressed to buy tickets and place ads in the county’s Lincoln Day Dinner program. And yet, were not supported as their primary opponents were.

I hope they recall that when Stu comes around with his hand out for next years’ dinner. According to the report – the report THEY filed -They literally gave more to the State Party chair for some reason or another than they donated to their own candidates after the primary.  Lincoln Day Dinner food for thought.

Next, let’s look at the report for Davison County Republicans:

There are so darned many people who lost in the primary receiving a check that I can’t really go into detail. It’s like a rogues gallery of who couldn’t win across the state.

Sure, there were some of those who are running in the general election.  Except, this county group raised a bit over $20,000, and blew the vast lions share in choosing winner and losers not in the general election as they should have, but they spent like a drunken sailor on shore leave in the primary outside of their district. Did they really need to send Dylan Jordan $250 for his primary race across the state? Or Toby Doeden? Who made the decision in Mitchell to send Toby $2500 of the money they raised in Republican events to run his race against the other candidates in the primary, such as Governor Rhoden?

I am told that the group of clowns who led this party are out the door, after they spent everything they and their predecessors had raised, leaving $850 in the account. You want to give the new guys an opportunity to do better, but there may be some people burned by shenanigans like this making them reluctant to support the party.  So what are Republicans to do?

If people actually care about restoring confidence in the Republican Party, at a time that the Republican Central Committee is waking up to the fact that the State Party didn’t support candidates this year supporting candidates, while some of their county groups were playing in the primaries, they badly need some reform. They need to put new leadership in at the state level, and have measures in the bylaws on what county parties are and are not supposed to do, especially on what is allowed in supporting candidates.

Or not. And they can continue as they have.