Campaign finance reports are in for South Dakota’s serious gubernatorial candidates:
| Candidate | Balance 1/1/2017 | Raised | Spent | Cash on Hand 12/31/2017 |
| Kristi Noem | $1,807,135.40 | $900,751.97 | $566,192.56 | $2,141,694.81 |
| Marty Jackley | $1,000,922.28 | $920,016.99 | $367,994.85 | $1,552,944.42 |
| Billie Sutton | $0.00 | $829,515.47 | $165,284.94 | $664,230.53 |
Jackley has 2.3 times more money than Sutton; Noem has 3.2 times more than Sutton. Dems are hosed, right?
But look at the money each candidate raised in 2017. Jackley beat Noem by $20K, but the Democrat raised better than 90% of the frontrunning Republican’s total. In South Dakota, that’s impressive.
Team Sutton spins those figures further, noting that Sutton raised more money per campaign month than either of his Republican opponents. This claim is true: while Noem and Jackley launched their campaigns in November 2016 and thus already had their campaign fundraising machines up and running every day in 2017, Sutton didn’t start until May 31, meaning he had seven months of official, active fundraising compared to Noem’s and Jackley’s twelve. Check out the daily fundraising rates:
| Candidate | Daily Take | Daily Spend | Daily Net |
| Noem | $2,467.81 | $1,551.21 | $916.60 |
| Jackley | $2,520.59 | $1,008.21 | $1,512.39 |
| Sutton | $3,858.21 | $768.77 | $3,089.44 |
Sutton raised more per day and spent less. Jackley beat Noem on daily take, but Noem spent 50% more each day than Jackley (and can anyone point to any tangible advantage Noem got with that extra spending?). Sutton’s daily net was 2.0 times Jackley’s and 3.4 times Noem’s.
Those rates should change now that election year is here. Surely all three candidates will work harder to raise more and spend more. Noem and Jackley will have to up their games faster than Sutton to fight the primary. So suppose (and these numbers are complete guesstimates) that Noem and Jackley both double their fundraising pace but (airtime on KELO ain’t free!) octuple their spending rate while Sutton simply maintains his superior daily rate and his thrifty 2017 spending rate through Primary Day. How much money would each candidate have on June 5?
- Noem: $983,214.
- Jackley: $1,084,154.
- Sutton: $1,143,094.
Those numbers assume Noem would spend $1.9 million and Jackley would spend $1.2 million on the primary. Kristi, Marty, feel free to prove me wrong and spend even more on the primary. And Billie, keep up the good work.
Mr. H, if Mr. Jackley figuratively slaps Ms. Noem around enough in the primary that she has been bloodied to the point Mr. Sutton has a chance and eeks one out, will you accept a cabinet appointment and if so, what is your desired post? Education Secretary or Environment Secretary? Budget Secretary? Auditor?
Heck no—if we get a Democratic governor, I’m going to have to switch back to being a Republican. I don’t think I could survive as a member of the majority party. :-D
A certain speech this evening is being turned into a fund raiser/ re-election soire for a certain bogus potus with a dead animal on his head. For a $35 donation, yer name will be flashed across the screen at the SOTU address tonight. Stay classy, Drumpf.
Wonder if SD pols will pick up on this scheme?
[Not relevant—let’s boycott SOTU until we get a transcript!]
Sutton is a far cry from that pathetic fund raising operation of Tim B. Netting $20K is cash with no primary opponent? He’d of almost been better off investing his $50K loan in the stock market and riding the Trump train up than actively fundraising.