Dakota War College notices that one Eric Terrell, possibly this registered Republican math teacher from Rapid City, has filed an FEC Statement of Candidacy to run for South Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat in 2018. I say “possibly” only because instead of listing his middle name as “Amos”, the Statement of Candidacy lists Eric Terrell’s middle name as “Brand New”… which is silly, because if you’re doing something as serious as running for political office, you should seriously use your legal name.
DWC notes that Terrell has rather unusually listed 714 S. Gay Street, Suite 201, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 as his campaign address.
Note: the only inhabitancy requirement for members of Congress allowed by the Constitution is that a member inhabit the state he or she represents at the time of election.
Also note: Terrell’s Knoxville address isn’t really that unusual. Out of 1,016 Statements of Candidacy on file with the Federal Election Commission this morning, ten list that same Knoxville Gay Street address:
| FEC ID | Candidate | Party | State | District | Office City | Office State | Office ZIP | Receipt Date |
| H8TX14120 | BELL, ADRIENNE | DEM | Texas | 14 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/10/2017 |
| H8IL07103 | CLARK, ANTHONY | DEM | Illinois | 7 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/10/2017 |
| H8IL01106 | DRUMMER, DEMOND | DEM | Illinois | 1 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/11/2017 |
| H8NY15148 | OCASIO-CORTEZ, ALEXANDRIA | DEM | New York | 15 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/10/2017 |
| H8TX22206 | PLUMMER, LETITIA | DEM | Texas | 22 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/10/2017 |
| H8AL07089 | RICE, RICHARD BRAND NEW | DEM | Alabama | 7 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/11/2017 |
| H8FL07054 | RICHARDSON, CHARDO | DEM | Florida | 7 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/18/2017 |
| H8AR03066 | RYERSE, ROBERT | REP | Arkansas | 3 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/18/2017 |
| H8WA09054 | SMITH, SARAH BRAND NEW | DEM | Washington | 9 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/11/2017 |
| H8SD01089 | TERRELL, ERIC BRAND NEW | REP | South Dakota | 0 | KNOXVILLE | TN | 37902 | 05/11/2017 |
Brand New Congress, a progressive political movement founded by Bernie Sanders campaigners, lists four of these ten candidates on its candidates webpage. BNC lists three other candidates for whom the FEC appears not yet to have paperwork. BNC lists its main address as a P.O. Box in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Two others on this list adopt Terrell’s device of replacing his middle name with “Brand New” branding (which practice properly invites mockery and should not be permitted on the ballot).
Terrell’s association with this crowd is unusual in that he is one of only two Republicans in the crowd. The other Republican, Pastor Robb Ryerse from Arkansas, is running to bring the Republican Party back to what he sees as its more progressive past.
One actual candidate from Knoxville, Tennessee, Dr. Joshua Williams, does not list the Brand New Congress office on his Statement of Candidacy.
The only other filed candidates listing campaign addresses outside of their home states are eleven candidates listing Washington, DC (eight of them incumbents) and one Illinois man running for a Senate seat in Indiana under the Disability Party banner.
DWC has listed the Facebook connections between Eric Terrell of Rapid City and the Bernie-Sanders-flavored Brand New Congress movement. Somehow DWC missed this public Facebook post from Terrell to the South Dakota Pagans & Wiccans page:
A pagan who practices with a coven—well! That should liven up the debates about religious freedom with boring old Christian Republicans Dusty Johnson and Shantel Krebs!
For the record, per Article 6, Section 3, I impose no religious test on candidates for political office. But I have about as much time for a discussion of Wicca as I do for inmates praying to Odin, Thor, and other figments of human imagination.
On the bright side, its nice to see someone fighting for this state. Establishment Dems have all but conceded it.
I do commend Mr. Terrell for already getting Pat Power’s goat. Pat couldn’t resist making a snide, homophobic comment about living on “Gay Street”. You may claim to be a victim of “political correctness” Pat, but you still have no license to insult people without getting criticized and ridiculed by me.
LS, if Brand New Congress can mount an effective campaign to break the grip of Establishment Republicans in our state, I welcome their efforts. However, I will be torqued if they have officially adopted the Huether strategy of dissing the Democratic brand. Likewise if throw money behind Terrell instead of behind a more progressive Democrat, or if they back Terrell, lose in the primary to Krebs or Johnson, and then decline to help the Democrat in the field.
I am curious whether you would include Jehovah, Jesus, Allah, Mohammed , Vishnu, Shiva, et al on your list of figments of human imagination that you have no time for.
Kevin’s statement is quite literally true: I have no time for any imagined deity, at least not in any way that applies to my practical daily living. I relish occasional discussions of metaphorical meanings in literature, but I will not be building an altar and praying to Spock of Vulcan.
I also have no time for candidates who try to turn their personal religious beliefs into campaign advantages. I urge all candidates, Christian, pagan, Wiccan, and otherwise, to keep their religion out of our common politics.
If I was a religious old man, which I am not, I would choose the pagan witch brand as well. That makes this fellow more interesting to me. He’s a witch, like some here…and you know who you are.
Cory, the Democratic brand is tarnished and people are right to say so, IMHO. Why do think BNC would have an obligation to help the democrat if the democrat wins the primary? Hell, the DNC won’t even support Democratic candidates here. Why should BNC?
[…] I would have to agree with LS to a certain degree. The South Dakota Democratic Party Brand has been so damaged I’m not sure it is even salvageable. There could be a very good opportunity to start & build a non fringe and unique to South Dakota third party that could be a true opposition party. Competition in a good way is needed for better governing in our state. It pushes us to be better, is a competition of ideas and the citizens of South Dakota benefit.
LS, BNC is on a mission to get a brand new Congress, more progressive and citizen-responsive. If they really want that, and if their Republican candidate doesn’t make it past the primary, they should back the only remaining candidate who offers them the chance to achieve their goal in South Dakota, and that will be the Democratic candidate.
If the DNC doesn’t come through with support, that’s all the more reason for BNC to step in, prove its worth as an ally in the campaign, and build support for its next campaign. If they want to be Miranda’s desired third party, then they need to win voters, donors, and candidates by proving they can help a candidate win in November. That means helping break the SDGOP’s grip on South Dakota’s DC seats.
Cory, I disagree. You are assuming that the candidate with a “D” behind their name will somehow be progressive. Let me remind you that Kim Davis, the court clerk who refused to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, was a registered Democrat. It’s just a label and doesn’t mean anything.
If Dems they want to win, the should stop expecting people to vote for them by default and figure out what it is they need to do to earn votes. Attacking those on the left, is not a winning strategy, as the 2016 election has proven.