Rumor alert: 2024 D4 Senate race to feature Steph Sauder

While I’m out in the hills for a work conference, for the seat that SDGOP Chair John Wiik is termed out from running again in 2024, I’m hearing through the grapevine that State Rep. Steph Sauder will be entering that contest.

Sauder’s first run at the office was in 2022, where she was the top vote recipient in a 4 way primary.

Interestingly, it could also set up the District 4 Senate seat for a primary election in 2024. As fellow State Representative Fred Deutsch is termed out of seeking another term in the house of representatives.

(correction.. Fred is not termed until 2026)

Stay tuned.

17 thoughts on “Rumor alert: 2024 D4 Senate race to feature Steph Sauder”

  1. Steph is true-blue South Dakota. She’ll do great in the Senate, and will continue to be a formidable campaigner. Good for District 4!

  2. Thank Goodness! Steph would be good. Fred needs to quit. He drinks the kool aid too many times.

  3. Steph is a rural South Dakota Aggie in the finest tradition, as was her father who served many years in the legislature . Perfect fit for her rural district

    1. Anonymous at 6:36 AM: the SDGOP platform supports private property rights only as far as they are protected by the 5th Amendment: owners get due process and just compensation. That’s it. All she has to do is say she supports the platform.

      I had a conversation Wednesday with a woman who said one of her neighbors objected to the installation of fiber optic cable. They were content with their internet speeds and didnt want one of those green boxes anywhere near them..Had it not been possible to use “eminent domain for private gain” that one property owner could have screwed things up for the whole neighborhood.
      The idea that only one person, in possession of a few square feet of land, like a cemetery plot, miles from his own place of work or residence, can veto private infrastructure projects is insane. Just think about it: the owner of a cemetery plot could stop a desirable improvement just because he isn’t going to need that product or service when he’s dead.

      Property adjacent to my own is owned by people who actually live over 10 mimes away. It is of no concern to them if we dont have water, electricity, or telecommunications out here. Giving them veto power over infrastructure improvements doesn’t make any sense either.

      If you don’t want to live near a pipeline, just take the money and move.

      1. “The idea that only one person, in possession of a few square feet of land, like a cemetery plot, miles from his own place of work or residence, can veto private infrastructure projects is insane.”

        No, not really. Your property is your property. At this point, I’m convinced kids that never get told no grow up to be developers who use eminent domain.

        1. Things urban residents take for granted: running water, electricity, natural gas, cable TV service, and telephone lines, were installed over the years by private businesses out to make a profit, using eminent domain.

          If one property owner is allowed to veto a project, such as high speed telecommunications, that person will be able to devalue the real estate in an area and prevent any sale to anyone other than himself, in a form of “block busting.”

          It’s nuts.

            1. It’s only a hoax sold to the Climate Change ideologues who thought this was a plan to save the planet.
              The compressed CO2 is going to the oil fields of North Dakota, where it will be used for “enhanced oil recovery.” (Don’t call it fracking!)

              I passed a northbound truck on I-29 containing compressed CO2. Somebody is spending quite a bit of money to take compressed CO2 north; I doubt that the tax incentives are that profitable, but they help.
              The North Dakota Petroleum Council wants it. The South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association wants it. The Farm Bureau and the Corn Growers’ Association are also in favor of it.
              Domestic energy production is essential to national security, so according to a resolution of June 2022, the SD GOP is for it, too.

              The people who are against it include the ones trying to sell us electric cars, the Sierra Club, and CAH and his pals on that other blog.

  4. It’s not hard to analyze the data and conclude Rep. Sauter will face an uphill battle if she faces Rep. Deutsch in a two-way primary. While it’s true she squeaked out a first place finish in the last primary because votes were dispersed amongst other conservative candidates, people should understand that Deutsch then buried her in the general election. Despite his reputation on some issues, Deutsch is a formidable campaigner and will be heavily favored if he decides to run against Sauter. His supporters are also more committed across the board. I’ll bet Noem talked her into running for this and hasn’t really thought it through, but she and Deutsch should get together and decide who and what is best for their district. If not, she’s been played for a fool.

  5. Just to throw more into the mix, both President Pro Tempore Schoenbeck and Speaker Bartels are termed out.

  6. Does former Representative and current Sec of Health Magstadt live in District 4?

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