Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight
Most of the action in Tuesday’s South Dakota primary election is in Republican legislative races, where a fight for control of the party has drawn in players ranging from upstart challengers to fundraising groups affiliated with members of Congress.
There are 44 Republican legislative primary races across the state, and only one Democratic legislative primary. Winners will go on to represent the party in the Nov. 5 general election, when all 105 seats in the Legislature will be up for grabs.
Republicans currently hold all but 11 of 105 legislative seats, and their grip on the majority is not in doubt. But the party’s direction could be influenced by Tuesday’s results, many of which will be the final result. Among 35 districts, 16 of them lack general election contests for House seats and 20 lack general election contests for Senate seats, due to candidates running unopposed or one party (mostly Democrats) failing to field a candidate. In other words, in some districts, the primary election is the de facto general election.
One of the Republicans trying to influence the primary results is Toby Doeden, who considered challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson but decided against it. Doeden has since launched Dakota First Action, a political action committee aiming to remove “fake Republicans and their whole crony crowd” from the state House of Representatives, replacing them with “America First” candidates, according to Doeden.
“Then we’ll take the Senate and governor’s office,” Doeden said, referring to future elections.
Doeden contributed $100,000 of his own money to the committee and reported it as a donation, according to a campaign finance report. After online commenters pointed out the $10,000 limit on individual contributions to political action committees, Doeden said the contribution should have been reported as a loan, not a donation.
Pat Powers, a Republican blogger, has filed an affidavit alleging Doeden is “flagrantly violating” campaign finance laws. Powers also published correspondence from Attorney General Marty Jackley indicating that Jackley’s office is investigating.
As of the last filing deadline, Doeden’s committee had spent $25,000 on “data acquisition,” and recently sent text messages to District 25 voters alleging a Republican candidate he dislikes is a liberal in disguise.
Another political action committee seeking to challenge the Republican establishment in Pierre is Spearfish Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach’s Liberty Tree. It spent $58,000 ahead of the primary.
Former executive director of Rapid City Catholic Social Services Jim Kinyon’s Protecting SD Kids donated $37,000 to similar candidates, as did anti-abortion activists’ South Dakota Right to Life PAC, spending $11,600. The PAC is affiliated with the nonprofit South Dakota Right to Life, which includes Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Watertown, Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, and former representative and current candidate Spencer Gosch on its board.
None of the money spent by those committees went to Republican candidates currently serving in legislative leadership positions.
One such Republican, former state senator Tom Dempster, of Sioux Falls, warns that confrontational politics within the party will contribute to further divides in an already divided country.
“We have way too many candidates on the fringe that want people to rally around them because they simply want to upset the system,” Dempster said. “It’s just the opposite of what our democracy needs today. We need people who know how to handle conflict and pull people together.”
The kinds of candidates Dempster favors are receiving help in the primary from longtime Republican state lawmaker Lee Schoenbeck, of Watertown, who isn’t seeking reelection. He founded a political action committee in 2021, South Dakota Strong. The committee spent $46,000 on nine candidates ahead of this primary, according to its campaign finance report.
Schoenbeck said today’s Republican party consists of two different groups of people.
“There are the normal Republicans, and there are these strange individuals who are not conservative. They’re just unusual,” Schoenbeck said. “But they turn out big in primary elections. So, if normal, regular-thinking conservative folks don’t vote in this primary, the highly unusual folks will win.”
Mort PAC, run by House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, spent $48,271 to help some of the same candidates. It received $10,000 from Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds’ Peter Norbeck Leadership PAC and $10,000 from Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune’s Heartland Values PAC.
Dusty PAC, managed by supporters of U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, donated $25,750 to many of the same candidates and more.
Dakota Legacy PAC, run by Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, took a similar approach, giving $16,700 to candidates and spending $10,000 on advertising. The committee also received $10,000 apiece from Thune’s and Rounds’ PACs.
Following are summaries of some races that people on both sides of the Republican divide say they’re watching closely.
House of Representatives
In state House of Representatives primaries, the top two vote-getters from each party advance to the general election, where they will vie for two House seats in each legislative district.
District 18 (Clay, Yankton counties): Incumbents Mike Stevens and Julie Auch, and challenger John Marquardt, all of Yankton.
Auch received money from South Dakota Right to Life PAC and a 91.7% scorecard rating from South Dakota Citizens for Liberty, a group that says it advocates for limited government. Stevens received money from Dusty PAC and a 33.3% rating on the Citizens for Liberty scorecard.
Meanwhile, Auch received a D rating from a scorecard published by the Republican blogger Powers, the Real Conservative Scorecard, and Stevens received a B+ rating.
Yankton County Commission Chairman Marquardt received donations from Mort PAC and Dusty PAC.
District 13 (Lincoln, Minnehaha counties): Incumbent Tony Venhuizen and challengers Brad Jankord, John Hughes and Penny BayBridge, all of Sioux Falls. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the two Republican primary winners will win the two House seats.
Venhuizen formerly served as chief of staff for Governors Kristi Noem and Dennis Daugaard and has been involved in Republican state politics for many years.
Jankord received donations from Dusty PAC, Mort PAC, former Gov. Dennis Daugaard, Venhuizen and others, totaling over $60,000.
Hughes has received funding from Odenbach’s Liberty Tree, South Dakota Right to Life PAC, Protecting SD Kids and others, totaling over $40,000.
BayBridge took in $4,703 from various individuals.
With Venhuizen taking in over $100,000, plus the fundraising by other candidates, the district’s primary election is the most expensive South Dakota Searchlight found.
District 9 (Minnehaha County): Incumbent Bethany Soye, of Sioux Falls, and challengers Kristi Golden, Daryl Christensen and Tesa Schwans, all of Hartford.
Soye has a 97.5% Citizens for Liberty rating and contributions from Liberty Tree, South Dakota Right to Life PAC and Protecting SD Kids. She was given a D rating on the Real Conservative Scorecard.
Schwans received donations from South Dakota Right to Life PAC, Protecting SD Kids and Liberty Tree.
Golden received donations from Dusty PAC and Mort PAC, and Christensen received donations from Venhuizen and Daugaard.
District 2 (Minnehaha County): Incumbents John Sjaarda, of Valley Springs, and David Kull, of Brandon, face challenger Jake Schoenbeck, of Sioux Falls. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the two Republican primary winners will win the two House seats.
Sjaarda has an 87.5% Citizens for Liberty rating and contributions from Liberty Tree and Protecting SD Kids. Schoenbeck is the son of longtime legislative leader Lee Schoenbeck (who isn’t seeking reelection). South Dakota Strong gave Jake Schoenbeck $5,000. He also received contributions from Mort PAC and Dusty PAC.
Kull has an A rating on the Real Conservative Scorecard and received donations from Dusty PAC and Mort PAC.
District 21 (Aurora, Charles Mix, Douglas, Gregory and Tripp counties): Incumbent Marty Overweg, of New Holland, and challengers Lee Qualm, of Platte, and Jim Halverson, of Winner. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the two Republican primary winners will win the two House seats.
Overweg has a 97.5% Citizens for Liberty rating and contributions from Liberty Tree and South Dakota Right to Life PAC. Qualm, a former legislator, also has Liberty Tree and South Dakota Right to Life PAC contributions, plus an endorsement from Dakota First Action.
Halverson, whose daughter is involved with U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson’s reelection campaign, received donations from Dusty PAC and Mort PAC.
District 23 (Brown, Campbell, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, McPherson, Potter, Walworth counties): Incumbents Scott Moore, of Ipswich, and Majority Whip James Wangsness, of Miller, and challenger Spencer Gosch. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the two Republican primary winners will win the two House seats.
Gosch previously served as speaker of the House. He received contributions from Protect SD Kids, Liberty Tree and a PAC affiliated with the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, whose members sometimes clash with Republican legislative leaders.
Wangsness has an A+ rating on the Real Conservative Scorecard and received contributions from Dusty PAC and Mort PAC.
Moore’s pre-primary finance report includes donations from Dusty PAC, Protecting SD Kids and the South Dakota Freedom Caucus PAC.
Senate
In state Senate primaries, only the top vote-getter from each party advances to the general election to vie for one Senate seat in each legislative district.
District 16 (Lincoln, Turner, Union counties): Kevin Jensen vs. Eric Hohman, both of Canton. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
Jensen, a current state representative, is term-limited in the House. He has an 83.3% Citizens for Liberty rating and a contribution from Liberty Tree and South Dakota Right to Life PAC.
Hohman’s campaign has received contributions from Lee Schoenbeck’s South Dakota Strong PAC, Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree’s Dakota Legacy PAC and the Dusty PAC.
District 3 (Brown County): Carl Perry vs. Katherine Washnok, both of Aberdeen. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
Current state representative Perry is attempting a switch to the Senate against Brown County Republican Chair Washnok.
Washnok says she “grew up in” the state Republican Party. She has a contribution from Dakota Legacy PAC and Dusty PAC.
Perry has a 75% SD Citizens for Liberty rating, a Dakota First Action endorsement, and checks from Liberty Tree and South Dakota Right to Life PAC.
District 30 (Custer, Fall River, Pennington counties): Incumbent Julie Frye-Mueller, of Rapid City, vs. Amber Hulse, of Hot Springs, and Forrest Foster, of Rapid City.
Frye-Mueller is one of two Republicans with a 100% rating from Citizens for Liberty. The state Senate censured Frye-Mueller in 2023. She had allegedly verbally harassed a Legislative Research Council staffer, including criticism of the staffer’s decision to have her baby vaccinated.
Hulse is a lawyer and former Miss South Dakota who worked as an intern in President Donald Trump’s administration. She received a donation from Dusty PAC.
Foster received $1,600 ahead of the primary, including $1,000 from himself.
District 8 (Brookings, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner counties): Incumbent Casey Crabtree, of Madison, vs. Rick Weible, of Elkton. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
Crabtree is the Senate majority leader and reports taking in about $69,000 on his pre-primary finance report. He has a 31.8% rating from Citizens for Liberty.
Weible is a leader in attempts to get rid of vote-counting machines and force hand-counting. He received a donation from the South Dakota Freedom Caucus and took in $6,000 total.
District 4 (Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin and Roberts counties): Fred Deutsch, of Florence, vs. Stephanie Sauder, of Bryant. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
With term limits forcing John Wiik out of the Senate, current representatives Deutsch and Sauder are seeking the open seat.
Deutsch has a 66.7% Citizens for Liberty rating and received donations from South Dakota Right to Life PAC and Protecting SD Kids. Sauder has a 43.5% Citizens for Liberty rating and contributions from South Dakota Strong and Dusty PAC.
District 35 (Pennington): Incumbent Mike Walsh, of Box Elder, vs. challengers Greg Blanc and Curtis Nupen, both of Rapid City. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
Walsh was appointed to an open seat this year by Gov. Kristi Noem. He has a contribution from South Dakota Strong. Blanc has contributions from Liberty Tree and South Dakota Right to Life PAC. Nupen gave himself $6,000.
District 34 (Pennington): Jason Green vs. Taffy Howard, both of Rapid City.
With incumbent Michael Diedrich not seeking reelection, former legislator Howard is seeking a return to the Legislature. She is a former primary challenger to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, whom she described as insufficiently conservative. She has contributions from Liberty Tree, South Dakota Right to Life PAC and Protecting SD Kids, and a Dakota First Action endorsement.
Green is endorsed by outgoing Sen. Diedrich and received donations from Dusty PAC and Lee Schoenbeck.
District 25 (Minnehaha and Moody counties): Incumbent Tom Pischke, of Dell Rapids, vs. challenger Jordan Youngberg, of Colman.
Pischke has an 80.7% rating from Citizens for Liberty, a contribution from Liberty Tree and a Dakota First Action endorsement. He made statewide news for being banned from the House during the last days of the most recent legislative session for a breach of decorum.
Youngberg, a former legislator, has contributions from South Dakota Strong and Dusty PAC.
District 17 (Clay and Union counties): Incumbent Sydney Davis, of Burbank, vs. Jeffrey Church, of Vermillion. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
Church has contributions from Liberty Tree and Protecting SD Kids, and is highlighting Davis’ 20% Citizens for Liberty rating in his campaign material. Davis has donations from Dusty PAC and others totaling about $39,000.
District 9 (Minnehaha County): Joy Hohn, a vocal opponent of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, faces off with former representative Mark Willadsen. There is no Democratic or independent candidate, which means the Republican primary winner wins the seat.
Doeden’s Dakota First Action endorsed Hohn, and she has donations from Liberty Tree and South Dakota Right to Life PAC.
Willadsen has donations from Dusty PAC, former Gov. Daugaard, and former speaker of the state House, Mark Mickelson.