South Dakota GOP announces results of straw poll held at South Dakota State Fair

Pat Powers

South Dakota GOP announces results of straw poll held at South Dakota State Fair

This evening, South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Dan Lederman announced the results of the South Dakota GOP’s Straw Poll held at the South Dakota State Fair, and was quite happy with the energy and strong interest that the poll drew among South Dakota’s Republican voters.

“The South Dakota State Fair was a great opportunity for the Republican Party to showcase the multiple candidates we have for our state’s political offices, and you could tell by the waves of people who would crowd the booth for an opportunity to meet the candidates and choose the one they liked the best,” Lederman said. “Besides the candidates who manned the GOP State Fair building all weekend, Republican voters also had a chance to greet old friends not up for election in 2018 such as Senator Mike Rounds and Senator John Thune who both spent time at the fair.”

Lederman prefaced the poll results by noting “Understanding that this is not a truly random or scientific poll, I have to say that each campaign worked their tails off to get their supporters to the fair and to meet South Dakotans still in the process of making a choice who to vote for. And they did it while the competition was only a few feet away.  It’s a testament to Republicans supporting each other in the spirit of competition.”

The results released tonight were as follows:

For Congress # Votes Percentage
Dusty Johnson 934 54.2%
Shantel Krebs 788 45.8%
For Governor
Lora Hubbel 20 1.1%
Marty Jackley 1019 57.9%
Terry LaFleur 6 0.3%
Kristi Noem 716 40.7%

1722 votes were cast in the straw poll for Congress, and 1761 were cast in the Gubernatorial Straw Poll.

Chairman Lederman made a point to compare the competition over the weekend, stating that “Republican energy was off the charts, and the Democrats a few doors down had an empty booth and ‘no mojo’ for most of the weekend. However, Republicans don’t rest on our laurels, and we’re gearing up for a spirited campaign in 2018.”

The GOP also drew for prizes. John Litzer of Tolstoy was the winner of the drawing for an autographed cowboy hat from Congresswoman Kristi Noem. Becky Berwald of Toronto, SD and Bobbie Ann Sullivan of Agar, SD both won a book by Kris Paronto, one of the soldiers immortalized in the true life “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” movie.

Wanda Gray of Sioux Falls won a flag donated by Marty Jackley, and Maria McKnights of Tea, SD won a bean bag game donated and signed by Congresswoman Kristi Noem.

56 thoughts on “South Dakota GOP announces results of straw poll held at South Dakota State Fair”

    1. You would not of been shocked had you been at the fair. Some campaigns cared much more than others about the results and put their resources and candidate to work accordingly.

  3. I am in agreement. Giving gifts away while standing right in front of the voting jars. I wouldn’t take much stock in it.

  5. I think the WINNERS were all 4 of the candidates over 700 votes and the Republican party!

    The losers were Lora Hubbel and Terry LaFleur…they should just drop out…they have zero chance anyway.

        1. Assessing the quality/value of the give-aways:

          Marty’s bags: ~$1, almost everyone can use one of these, so they were well received. A-.
          Shantel’s water bottles: ~$1; moderately well-received. B.
          Dusty’s mints: ~7 cents; people will take them, but no one really wants them. They also have no durability. As soon as you eat them, they are gone. C-.
          Kristi’s sunglasses: ~$2; very much in demand, especially among women and children. A.

          I’m not sure the results support your thesis, Tara.

          1. Cheapo Lora gets an A for not doing the feel good, I spent money on gifts!!!! Gifts cost money. Talk is cheap, or should I say free. She might be too conservative for you guys. I guess instead of doing a straw pole, I would have suggested a debate or Fair City town hall meeting among the candidates. Engage the people with questions, not candy.

  6. I’m surprised that shantel didn’t win. She’s from neighboring Kinsbury County and has an ag background – you’d think this would he a home game for her.

  9. Unfortunately, I am wondering how accurate these results are. My cousin from MN was offered a ballet even after noting she wasnt from SD.

    2. Not to worry, voter fraud in this poll doesn’t matter;)

      If you feel pressure from anyone remember you have options, do what you think is right. Be you!

    3. Straw Polls are by definition not scientific. The rules clearly stated that one had to be a SD resident to vote.

    1. Does that mean the previous one where Kristi kicked his butt all over the place was a huge loss for Marty?

      Seriously, it’s a straw poll. Nice ego boost, but that’s about all.

      1. Nice try Team Noem. Only 30 people voted in the Union County straw poll that Kristi won by handful of votes. Over 1,700 people voted in the State Fair straw poll and Marty won by over 300. Big difference.

        1. Nice try team Jackley. Obviously you were gut punched by the Noem 100k+ West River fundraiser and you are desperate for news that you have a viable campaign.

          2. Funny- I bought the Noem press release about her event looked desperate… almost as desperate as her bizarre release where she attacked Lee Schoenbeck. Noem’s host list for that RC event proved she is struggling West River. The Who’s Who of the Black Hills were all on Jackley’s fundraiser list with around 70 co-hosts and a packed room of people. Image what a straw poll taken at the Central States Fair would have looked like.

            1. I have not decided yet who to vote for…it is way early….and quite frankly both are talking in generalities in my opinion yet….. but if she is struggling west river raising over $100k at the Trey Gowdy event we have different definitions of struggling…..

            2. So Mark you know that Jackley’s fundraiser in West River had the ‘Who’s Who’ on his invitation, 70 co-hosts, and a packed room of people. The real question is, ‘How Much Money Did Jackley Raise’. That is why most candidates have fundraisers, not to create illusions.

  11. If we look at the Straw Poll as a buzz draw getting folks to stop and visit and have some fun in the GOP booth everyone must admit it was an awesome success.
    With over 270 days to go before the Primary all the straw polls done at this time are just snapshots of a population’s current feelings with a known base.

    1. I agree. The party, and all Republicans as a whole were the winners. It brought a lot of energy to the State Fair.

          1. Way too early for debates! before they have debates they actually should make the ballot.

            Lora and LaFleaur have to actually get the signatures…1 if not both probably won’t. If they do then they should be int he debate…gives the 2 electable candidates each a moment to think while Lora babbles on.

            I suspect Jackley and Noem will try to get 5-10k signatures to show strength.

  13. You walk into the Democrat booth and its a ghost town and they bombard you with BS petitions for cannabis oil and so forth. The ballot is long enough the way it is, I’m not signing that crap.

    Then walk over to the Republican booth and you can’t get in because because its full of people.

    Way to go Team Johnson & Jackley.

    1. Greg I was there Sunday and it was pretty empty, but I got to visit with my good friend Rosie Harrington. You guys are lucky to have her.

  14. The GOP building was bustling. Lots of energy and activity- the straw poll brought in new people to vote and the candidates worked hard to get in front of every visitor. It was a new dynamic that I have not seen in past state fairs. No matter who won the poll it was a great activity where everyone could participate.

  15. Shantel is a sitting SOS who has appeared in the media regularly, had a good volunteer presence at the Fair, invested her own time in the event, had good promotional items for voters, is from the region and has an agricultural background.

    She lost to a former regulator who was last on the ballot 4 cycles ago.

    This is not good news for Shantel. If she can’t win here, with all of the aforementioned advantages, she may not be as popular as she thinks she is.

    1. A straw poll means nothing, just ask Trump when he was at 3% early on. Debates are where it’s at.

  16. Just curious, why wasn’t Lora Hubbel invited to display her materials at the state fair? The only person that invited her was Bob Mercer. Play fair.

  17. What? Not a lot of Democrats at the booth at the agricultural based state fair? C’mon. The state fair is genuinely created around republican standards. Look at the concerts, the agricultural implements, the number of uninformed people walking around, honestly believing their DC delegation represents them. Believe it or not, there are just as many Dems in the state as there are Republicans. Democrats are very supportive of South Dakota, but we don’t need to go to fair to show our colors.

    1. There are just as many Dems in the state as there are Republicans….

      what do you base that on?

      Voter registration…can’t be that as that favors GOP 46-31%

      History of being a purple state…nope Dems haven’t won an election for governor since 1974!

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