A couple weeks ago, I noted the appearance of an odd ballot question committee, “South Dakota Taxpayer’s PAC,” organized May 18 by Brenden Boudreau of Windsor, Colorado. Boudreau never directly to my e-mail inquiring what ballot question he intended to support or oppose with this committee, but he quasi-responded the day after I blogged by terminating the ballot question committee, before any money could move in or out of its bank account.
A trip through the campaign finance filings reveals that Boudreau already has a “South Dakota Taxpayer’s PAC,” organized as a political action committee since 2012 by Ken McGregor and Rip Ryness. South Dakota Taxpayer’s PAC tried unsuccessfully to paint Republican Reps. Mary Duvall and Tim Rounds as Obamaites in the 2014 primary. Robert Roland of Windsor, Colorado, filed the PAC’s paperwork in 2016, since which time South Dakota Taxpayer’s PAC has mostly moved money and in-kind contributions from the South Dakota Gun Owners. Boudreau took over their paperwork duties this year and reported taking in another $5,000 from South Dakota Gun Owners, as yet unspent as of the pre-primary report on May 21.
The South Dakota Taxpayer’s PAC thus appears to be a sockpuppet PAC, a channel through which the South Dakota Gun Owners, which has its own attack PAC, can amplify its message and make it sound like its coming from someone other than the usual gun nuts.