88 thoughts on “Rhoden wins Lt Governor Race”

  1. You Republicans are divided, aren’t you? AND, is it true that Rhoden once contributed to Daschle? But then again, Noem once went to a Daschle political retreat in the Hills, didn’t she (1998)?

  2. If there was ever a case to be made for RINOs in the GOP, it would be the fake Republicans who voted to toss out our Lt Gov for a failed primary candidate. They intentionality tried to hurt the gop in the fall. Luckily, the elephant has a good memory

    1. I agree! These people are not Republicans; they are members of the Tea Party, and it’s frightening. We must not let them strangle our party

      1. Exactly. I thought I could relish in the Dems division w/ the extreme Squad, BLM, Antifa, etc. but our party in SD is catching up to them. Pretty soon, the far right will create so much division (already apparent) that no one will work together and we’ll end up with a Democrat governor and state income tax. At this rate, it’s coming sooner than we think unless they can see we need to compromise once in a while.

        1. A state income tax? As opposed to property taxes that are getting more and more crazy, or vehicle taxes that are unavoidable, especially those that are moving from other states. How about the taxes on food? This state is greedy as can be, and led by one party. I lived in states were we had a state income tax, and I paid less taxes than living in South Dakota. The “no income tax” sounds great if you are a 1%er, but they get their same money, if not more, from the middle class, with the exception of farmers.

          1. Talk to your county boards and legislators. That’s where most of the taxes are determined (aside from state sales tax). Definitely not the governor’s office.

    2. Now, let me get this right, was it the RINOs, or the other guys, who gave the Democrats not only their District 15 back in Sioux Falls, but also now District 10, too?

      1. VSG, please go back to Scott’s blog and continue to post under your different aliases. His audience of 10 needs you.

        1. Right now, you guys are more fun. I wish I could have been a mouse at your state convention. It must have been fun. Oh, and what did Lincoln once say about a house divided?

        2. Say, with all of the Anonymouses on this site, how do you know it’s not just the same person?

    3. There is much blame to go around between the wakadoos and the gov. We do not have a unifier in the gop.

      But these wackadoos should be removed from our party as fast as possible.

      Lt. Gov should no longer be voted on at convention. It should be placed on the primary ballot with the governor candidates. Or the governor should just have to submit a person of her choosing to the convention and that should ratify it.

      Rhonda milstead and maggie sutton are an embarrassment to minnehaha county. They will be thrown out by the same nuts they pander to.

      1. You sound like the Nazis of the ’40s, ‘they are not exactly like us, the Aryans, so get rid of them.’ I voted for Rhoden, known him for over 20 years. But to throw people out because they didn’t vote for your candidate is ridiculous.

        SoS Steve Barnett was defeated in his reelection bid. Do we toss out all those who voted against him, the incumbent? You won’t have much of a party left if you start tossing those you don’t agree with.

        And calling them ‘waksdoos’ or ‘dirt bags’ or ‘rinos’ doesn’t help unite the party. Calling names only causes more division, but maybe that is your goal.

        1. Anonymous at 8:21, whatever names people choose to call them is beside the point: this was the group who actually OBJECTED to a resolution of support for the winners of the primary elections, the top of the Republican ticket.
          I never imagined I would be standing on the floor of a Republican convention giving a version of Gene Hackman’s “This is Your Team” speech from the movie “Hoosiers.”

          Their behavior was over-the-top AWFUL. They deserve every epithet they get.

          1. So, Anne, they failed didn’t they! The post before me said they should be kicked out. By that reasoning, any Republican who voted against Trump, who was the top of the party in 2022, should be kicked out of the Republican Party, including Pres George W Bush who said he was supporting Biden. Or should we just call him a wackadoo or RINO too?

            1. They objected to paying for the space they occupied, insisting somebody else should cover the cost of their participation.
              They objected to a resolution acknowledging the chairman’s work for the party,
              They objected to a resolution of support for the winners of the primary.

              When I find ticks on my dog, I pick them off and throw them out.

            2. Did you read what Anne said? Taffy Howard started it and others followed not to recognize Dan Lederman for all he has done for the party. They mentioned some problems with the convention but the convention isn’t done by just one person. There were many good things that happened at the convention. It was shameful to see a fellow Republican stand at the microphone and badmouth a good Republican who works hard and spends his own money traveling to events almost weekly. Hopefully, her career is over. And by the way, they call themselves Wackadoodles and Wingnuts. I saw a guy wearing a pin that said Wackadoodle. They’re actually proud of it. They are fake Republicans and dividers.

          2. This has the appearance of a cult where angry, ignorant, people who want to belong to something fall in line with the leaders who are very seasoned at lying and trying to destroy people. Those leading the pack are those who have big chips on their shoulders who want to ‘get back’ because their ego was bruised or they are just plain losers and they feel powerless. Beware, because they are smooth and good at deception and continue to become better at it as time goes on. They feed off the attention they get and love getting more gullible people to join them. However, they do nothing productive just as we saw at the convention, only tearing down of people, wasting time and accomplishing nothing. Taffy Howard was the perfect example. It was arrogant and disgusting. You could feel the oppression of the obstructionists. Names of people you will see leading this cult would be Taffy Howard, Steve Haugaard, Phil Jensen, & Jordan Mason. They perpetuate lies and topics that serve no purpose, but rather take the focus off of the horrible things they have done themselves. They only attended Convention to cause division and I’m not so sure it wasn’t their first time. They need to put their negative energy toward stopping MJ from being legalized as they all have the time to do it. Leave people alone who are working hard to do keep South Dakota the great state that it is!

            1. Amen! Things I’ve seen since convention is just several of them tearing others down. They must be butt hurt and sad.

        2. They call themselves wackadoodles. They had pins made, they wore them while voting at convention. They said “Proud Wackadoodle”. How am I, a grown man, supposed to recompense with such an absurd bunch of grown children?

    4. This guys voting record but he calls people RINOs

      Seriously folks, check out this fellow’s voting record.

  3. Those who show up make the decisions. In today’s case, Sioux Falls had many uber MAGA delegates show up. Haugaard made that way too close. Can you imagine if Dusty would have had to run at the convention – even he may have lost with today’s crowd. Rhoden would have won in a primary 70 to 30.

    As for Jackley, he needs to step it up. His race was way too close as well. No more mistakes like the Laura Kaiser situation. Be decisive and stop trying to run for the next office. Be the best AG you can be without worrying about the next election.

    1. Marty Jackley probably ignored Kaiser to gain the political support of the corrupt law enforcement agents she exposed, but even if we assume it was an honest mistake, attempting to silence her by delaying her $1.5 million payout was clearly an abuse of power.

      The Democrats’ attack ads have already been written … by Noem.

      1. You are right, those attacks are way worse than “hire me, my former boss killed a guy” ads. Silly.

    2. The so-called “MAGA delegates” were anything but. On Thursday, led by Taffy Howard, they wanted a free ride, declaring that the convention should be paid for using Other People’s Money, not their own. Some were heard grumbling about how they had to pay for their own motel rooms, too.

      On Friday, again led by Taffy Howard, they wanted to defeat a resolution supporting the winners of the Republican primary. They don’t want to vote for the party slate in November, they want to vote for somebody else. It sounded like they thought the state party should have rigged the election.

      She also led the charge against honoring the party chairman, because, she declared, he did such a poor job putting on the convention (note to the Pennington County GOP: put Taffy in charge of the Rapid City convention. She can plan and execute EVERYTHING better than anybody else, all by herself. Just do it.)

      Given that two years ago at the 2020 virtual convention she spoke against and successfully defeated a resolution honoring the Emancipation Act and the legacy of the Republican-led abolitionist movement, she is establishing quite a track record for herself, as a Democrat.

      1. The Dems still have to nominate their sacrificial lambs…maybe Taffy will cross over. Yikes, their best shot at winning a race this fall is probably to get Barnett to switch parties and be their SoS candidate.

        1. anonymous @ 11:42 I doubt Barnett really thinks the Emancipation Act was a Bad Idea,

    3. This fringe alt-right group of paleo-conservatives, regressive radicals, wackadoodles, wingnuts, and Tea Partyers are somehow even more mislead than the young out-of-state Libertarians they brought in to run their brutally dishonest shadow campaign while they recruited Rino delegates out of Sioux Falls. Such petty vindictiveness, deception, and dishonesty which was so falsely imposed by this ‘Liberty’ faction who were deceived themselves for Steve Haugaard – the man who tried mandating a female dress code specifically for female elected officials? That tremendous bastion of ‘liberty’?
      And now, if I may officially bestow upon him his greatest actually *HONEST* achievement, may I introduce to you, the first man in South Dakota history to ever lose to the same camp twice in a single month, the holier than thou: Steve Haugaard. May he pretend the role of marauder well in the coming weeks. Haugaard be thy name.
      Most of that group has made more room in their hearts for Trump than Jesus, but in Haugaard’s case, himself. If they’re planning to support the ticket endorsed by Trump and his electees, maybe they should first start by looking at the potential candidates and appointees you’ll be supporting and discontinue this petty foolishness.

    4. I think the problem with using Laura Kaiser as cannon fodder is that “Believe All Women” has turned into “Don’t Believe Any of Them.” It doesn’t work anymore.

      This was quite predictable. The public sided with Johnny Depp, and the Yorkie didn’t do it.

      .

  4. Perhaps the state constitution should be amended (likely by having the whole ticket on the petition and running in the primary) to prevent this from happening in the future. Otherwise, it’s inevitable that a gubernatorial candidate is going to be stuck with an unwanted running mate.

    1. How is it, now, that the same sour-faced group of radicals screaming about immigrants coming across American borders and changing the best system in the world, are the exact same people coming across South Dakotan borders and changing the best system in the United States.

      1. I wasn’t in Watertown because I’m not a member of the Republican Party. However, now that you mention it, the immigrants you’re referring to are the ILLEGAL immigrants who are receiving benefits paid for by the taxpayers. YOU may want to pay for them…I DON’T! We’ve never had a problem with immigrants entering our country LEGALLY and becoming productive citizens. Yes, I did come here from Northern California seven years ago, but I and other Californians who moved here have kept our eyes open to attempts by politicians on all levels to Californicate this state! This former Californian will not let California-style politics pass in Pierre, Sioux Falls or Rapid City without a fight.

        1. Thank you for those comments! And please persuade everyone that you know of coming here CA, OR and WA to do the same!

    2. It should at least just be a form submitted to the chair with her selection and we call it good.

      But we should never have a challenge to the Lt again.

      The wackadoos will never have the influence they had today.

      1. So many of the sioux falls contingency are straight hateful and awful people.

        I’ve lost all respect for Maggie Sutton.

        They hate you and they hate the party.

        They will be minimized going forward.

        1. Are you thinking Maggie Sutton voted for Haugaard? Not shocking but surprising. First hand knowledge? Changes my voting opinion if so.

            1. I’m sure Anne’s right — she usually knows about these things. But if that is, indeed, the case, then the Minnehaha vote proves that Maggie is an ineffective leader. Assuming you’re right, Anne, the fact that Maggie didn’t deliver Minnehaha — and the a massive 2:1 margin! — shows that her endorsement meant absolutely nothing to her delegation.

              1. it’s hard to control a delegation made up of people who never attend county meetings, fundraisers, anything, who were told that being a precinct committee man or woman means all they have to do is show up at the convention, vote and disappear. Few of them seem to know they are now elected officials expected to work a two-year term of office conducting political campaigns in their precincts: contacting voters, assisting with voter registration drives, raising money, and working hard to get the full slate of Republican candidates elected, even those they didn’t personally support in the primary.
                I think the various county chairs need to inform them that now that we have our candidates, the real work begins, and start telling them when and where to show up and do their job.

                1. Anne, you can’t have it both ways. Either Maggie didn’t work for Rhoden (although I believe you that she did) or she did work for Rhoden and was ineffective. There are multiple reasons why that could be. Two possibilities come to mind: 1) no matter the reason, Maggie isn’t effective or 2) Maggie as Minnehaha chair hasn’t done her job recruiting / educating / leading good precinct people. It seems like you favor #2. I can agree with that.

                  1. This is where Roetman comes in. He recruited many of those Sioux Falls delegates to support Monae in the SOS race. They were there because he asked them to run and asked them to show up. They have no allegiance to Maggie or the Governor. I believe Roetman when he says he supported Rhoden (even though he didn’t have a vote) — but he made this bed when he recruited all of the delegates for the SOS race.

                    1. But then for the same reason, Roetman isn’t very effective or respected. I believe him when he says he supported Rhoden. I agree with you that he recruited these far-right precinct people. But if he recruited them, and if he was respected and effective, they would’ve voted for Rhoden because Roetman supported Rhoden. The fact that they didn’t proves either that he didn’t support Rhoden or he isn’t held in high esteem by the people he recruited. You can’t have it both ways.

                      I think this was an unintended consequence. Basically, it’s Guam: rats were causing problems for the local ecology on Guam. So, an “expert” released venomous brown tree snakes to the island to kill the rats. Now the snakes have taken over the island and are causing more problems than the rats ever did. That’s what happened in Minnehaha. Maggie didn’t do her job to recruit precinct people. That allowed Roetman to release a lot of snakes into the delegate pool. He was trying to elect Monae and Ravnsborg/Natvig. But they don’t respect Roetman. Perhaps they heard how he bankrupted the party. No matter the reason, he can’t control them and they voted against the guy he was supporting in the third race.

    3. I agree. These totals clearly show the Republican delegation is NOT a proportionate representation of Republican voters. I have voted in every Primary since I was 18 and I would like a say in some of those offices, but I will never attend convention.

      1. Too bad that you will never attend a convention, there your voice could be heard and your vote counted. Those who don’t try can never make a change, or keep aa bad change from happening.

    1. Apologize in advance for my shorthand, but this is what I typed up for notes as the votes were coming in.
      Aurora, hau1 rho2
      Beadle, hau4, rho9
      Bennett, hau1
      Bon Homme, hau0, rho5
      Brookings, hau11, rho17
      Brown, hau16, rho20
      Brule, hau1, rho8
      Butte, hau4, rho2
      Campbell, hau0, rho6
      Charles Mix, hau8, rho5
      Clark, hau2, rho1
      Clay, hau11, rho10
      Codington, hau5, rho27
      Corson, hau1
      Custer, hau3, rho7
      Davison, hau12, rho12
      Deuel, hau1, rho1
      Douglas, hau2, rho2
      Edmunds, hau1, rho4
      Fall River, hau9, rho3
      Faulk, rho2
      Grant, rho5
      Gregory, rho1
      Haakon, hau1, rho9
      Hamlin, rho11
      Hand, hau5, rho1
      Hanson, hau1, rho1
      Hughes, hau1, rho23
      Hutchinson, hau2, rho3
      Jackson, hau2
      Jerald, rho2
      Kingsbury, hau1, rho3
      Lake, hau3, rho4
      Lawrence, hau4, rho10
      Lincoln, hau18, rho20
      Lyman, rho5
      Marshall, hau1, rho2
      McCook, rho2
      McPherson, hau1, rho2
      Meade, hau6, rho21
      Mellette, rho5
      Minnehaha, hau71, rho32
      Moody, hau3, rho8
      Pennington, hau27, rho35
      Perkins, hau1, rho3
      Robert’s, hau1, rho1
      Sanborn, hau1, rho1
      Spink, rho6
      Stanley, rho5
      Sully, hau3, rho4
      Tripp, hau1, rho2
      Turner, hau5, rho4
      Union, hau4, rho6
      Walworth, hau4, rho1
      Yankton, hau22, rho7
      Ziebach, rho1

      1. Consider these numbers for a moment…

        Minnehaha voted for Haugaard witih 70% of their vote at convention. Three weeks ago, Noem beat Haugaard in Minnehaha with 70% of the vote. At the convention, Minnehaha had over 32,000 proportional votes — with their vote, they gave Haugaard a 13,000 vote margin over Rhoden in their county. If they truly represented their electorate, it would have been the opposite — 13,000 advantage for Rhoden. So a 26,000 difference caused by Minnehaha delegates alone. Who is the main guy behind this? That would be Dave Roetman.

        It is way too easy for one or two motivated individuals with time on their hands to sway the convention. While some of you think we need to kick them out of the party, we have no control over that and never will. Having said that, we should never have a fight for Lt. Governor at the convention again. They should be on the ballot with the Governor during the primary. I’m not so sure the AG shouldn’t be a primary contest as well. The last convention gave us Ravnsborg and this convention almost gave us Natvig. Time for a change.

        1. Flattering that you think I have that much influence, but I had nothing to do with this. First, I think the Governor should pick their own lt. Governor. Second, for that reason I supported Larry Rhoden and told him so. I asked Steve Haugaard not to run for lt. Governor on Friday afternoon. Third, my priority was whipping votes for Monae Johnson and that is what I was actually doing.

          If you have an issue with me, be a man and call me. 605-521-2331

          1. Dave, the next time you recruit delegates you need to tell them they have to pay their own way: convention fees, meals and lodgings.
            You also need to tell them it’s a two-year term of office committing them to conduct the political campaign for the entire Republican slate in their precincts.
            Listening to the minions you unleashed at the convention complaining about their fees & motel rooms and declaring they will not support the ticket was sickening. You recruited them; now get them in line. They have a lot of work to do between now and November.
            What you did was awful. You have four months to redeem your reputation.

        2. You are absolutely correct. The convention is intended to consolidate the party, but we give the radicals that much sway, we will lose our state and our party leadership to the far-right loud minority just as the Democrats lost their party to the far-left.

  5. I visited with a group of young people in Dusty’s hospitality suite who asked me what I thought of Haugaard for LG.
    I said it would make for a dysfunctional administration and explained “it’s like a divorced couple, you like both of them but you know they don’t get along.”
    One of the young men said “that sounds like my parents.”

    And who really suffers when caught in the crossfire of such a relationship? We all know the answer when it’s a dysfunctional marriage, and in this case, the victims would be us.

  6. This convention display by the fractured and frothing SD GOP is exactly why I am now an Independent. There is so much possibility in the party, but they can’t get out of their own way. Would the adults please return to the room so we can have a cognitive quorum? Good grief

  7. I hoped we’d avoid the brand of juvenile embarrassment Wyoming is experiencing. I guess we don’t.

    1. Trump is eating this party alive wherever he can for his own purposes. Just say no.

      1. Brad, you sound like one of those people that anon 12:36am and Anne B. say should be called a name and/or kicked out of the party for not being supportive of the top of the party!

        1. You all are such twisty liars. Here’s your subconscious logic: “Democrats won stuff by packing rooms and destroying people. So we’ll match that strategy by packing rooms, destroying people and dismantling the Republican Party.” Bring it out of the subconscious and really look at it why don’t you.

          1. At least Brad, the people that vote at the GOP convention are ALL elected. Starting at the precinct committeemen and committee women in each county who are chosen at the primaries. And then also the county party officials who are elected by the precinct cm and cw in their respective counties. Why don’t you run for any of those positions? Probably because you don’t want to put the effort into it and would rather just complain. Or better yet, if you run as a Dem you have a much better chance of being elected as there are so few of them

            1. I’m familiar with the process but thanks for your Constitution Rock segment there. I regret using the term ‘liars’ for its inelegance, but I have no problem changing the reference to your remarks as dull sophistry. Glib though.

  8. Hilarious that the wackadoodles, in Schoenbeck’s words, are causing such a rift. Weren’t many of them personally invited here by the governor in her publicity commercials?

  9. Larry’s a class act. I’d hate to think how much worse the convention could’ve been if it had been anybody else running as lt gov.

    1. Depending on how things go in the next 2-4 years, Rhoden may have just won one of the most crucial races in SD history, and not so much because he won (there shouldn’t have been a vote anyway and shouldn’t be one for LT ever again) but because Haggard lost. That entire crew is full of bitter sour-faced, pugnosed, drowsy-eyed, stunted little pudgy weirdos who all severely need a masculine male role model like Larry to teach them how to be a man.
      Hopefully the spanking he gave them this time around actually sticks.

      1. That’s wishful thinking I’m afraid. They will be more motivated than ever because they almost pulled it off. This is as close as they’ve come and now you can bet they are making plans for future moves for AG and other offices.

      2. I disagree with Anon 11:14 am. Remember Spiro Agnew who Nixon had picked as his VP? Maybe the corrupt Agnew wouldn’t have been there if the second in command was actually picked by the convention. I do agree with allowing the Gov candidate to nominate the running mate but allow the convention to ratify that choice, just like Trump nominated 3 people for the SCOTUS who were ratified and have done good. Rhoden won the voting and he will do good.

  10. And we’ll probably never see any of these Haugaard people do anything to help the GOP because they only represent themselves, not the precincts.

    This convention has convinced me that we need to allow Governors to select running mates ahead of time and select all of these other constitutional officers in the primary.

    1. With your denigrating remark of “these Haugaard people” at least they are not part of the 68% who didn’t bother to vote. EVERYONE who is eligible to run for office based on the states’ and national criteria should not be faulted or ridiculed for running. The fact that one does not like a candidate does not mean they have to demean them because they don’t like them. I respect those who are willing to put their time, money and effort into running for public office–regardless of the party they represent (with the exception of any party espousing communism, facism or socialism). In my opinion, the “Haugaard people” coalesced around him because of issues they had with the governor. Examples? Claiming credit for not shutting down the state when that credit belongs to 50 members of the House who rejected her request to give that authority to the former HHS Secretary, an UN-ELECTED official. Her interference on behalf of her daughter in trying to get a state license is suspected nepotism. She did not support HB 1327 which would have reduced the sales tax back down to 4% in two years as promised in the Partridge Amendment…and her administration did not back the elimination of tax on food. Her flagrant and constant interference in the impeachment case against the former AG was another reason and perhaps, the straw that broke the camel’s back.
      I do appreciate the fact that we don’t have a governor like Wismer, Hochul, Wolf and definitely that tyrant Gruesome Newsom. I’ve been told I expect too much from elected officials, but yes…I do. As I mentioned above, I will do all that I can to fight any attempt to Californicate this state and look forward to Representative Ladner’s (another CA Escapee) property tax reform legislation for she is just as dedicated to prevent CA-style politics from metastasizing in our state.
      I yield the balance of my time.

    2. I really don’t think they are ‘Haugaard people’. Several I spoke to didn’t know hardly anything about him. They were just anti-incumbents. I heard not one bad word at the convention about Rhoden. It was all about sticking it to the Governor. No one could have been enamored with Haugaard after that nothing speech. But their minds were made up to go anti-incumbents, anti-Governor preference.

    3. Primary bad idea. People don’t even know who their legislative candidates are most of the time. Now they will be guessing for AG?

      Hmmm I haven’t voted for a woman today so I’ll take Beth Soy for AG.

      Yes wackjobs need to be slowed but they will never get this close again.

  11. Isn’t it ironic that the same people screaming about immigrants flooding over American borders and changing the best system in the world are also the same people flooding over South Dakotan borders to change the best system in America?

  12. Hmmmmmm…you plagiarized the “Anonymous” post at 12:12am. See the following response.

  13. Congratulations to Lt Gov Rhoden. He won fair and square.

    I do not think we should change our system. It has worked since statehood and encourages people to get involved in the political process.

    Furthermore, I like grassroots campaigners vs. just people who can raise money. I like meeting engaging and not just seeing them on TV commercials.

    1. Amen. Most of the salty folks in here just want to see politics be dominated by big $ interests

  14. Minnehaha is now the ‘California’ of South Dakota, and Steve Haugaard is our Kamala Harris. Except unlike Kamala, Haugaard doesn’t get to be running mate with the person he tried smearing in the Primary.
    Much like Kamala Harris, however, he has all the charisma of a damp paper towel, but instead of using his sex and race to stand at the top of the party’s inherent identity hierarchy, he simply stands on top of the cross.

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