Last year sensible Republicans tried to tamp down its radical fringe’s opportunity to upset the apple cart at convention with a bill that would have removed the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state from the convention nominating process and instead let the gubernatorial candidates officially choose their running mates while making AG and SOS stand for a statewide primary. That proposal collapsed when the House took all the fun out of it and the Senate refused to concur with a proposal affecting only the LG.
But now Senator Jim Mehlhaff (R-24/Pierre) is bringing back last year’s watered-down nomination reform bill in Senate Bill 13. This bill revives the idea of giving gubernatorial candidates exclusive authority over choosing their lieutenants. SB 13 would thus remove the possibility of cranks and spoilsports flooding the convention to challenge the gubernatorial candidate’s traditionally rubber-stamped pick, as took place in the raucous 2022 SDGOP convention. Alas, the bill mentions nothing about other statewide candidates, but by floating this bill, Senator Mehlhaff opens the door for amendments that could bring back the idea of adding AG, SOS, and other statewide offices through the primary process.
Senator Mehlhaff has recruited four Senators who voted to kill that proposal last year—Crabtree, Deibert, Stalzer, and Tobin—as co-sponsors.
South Dakota needs rank choice voting. It washes out the fringe wing nuts.
Jungle Primaries don’t stop the whackadoodles and precinct-derelicts from cooking up a convention turd unless you out-law the convention nonsense entirely. Put every slot up for a Jungle Primary, like that one fellow wants to do, and the Conservatives with Common Sense will dominate every race!
The most recent information I saw on how states elect/choose Lt. Gov. follows:
1. 18 states elect separately from goveror in general election.
2. 8 states have separate primary election. Lt. Gov primary winner runs with governor primary winner as a team in general election.
3. 7 states have governor candidate pick Lt. Gov before the primary.
4. 6 states have governor candidate pick Lt. Gov after the primary.
5. 5 states have NO LIEUTENENT GOVERNOR.
6. 4 states elect Lt. Gov. at convention.
7. 2 states have the president of the state senate as the Lt. Gov.
If South Dakota were to change the state’s method this session, switching to NO LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR would be a good choice for South Dakota effective this year.
I’ve heard the excuses supporting a change. (From current and past legislators.) They have to work together. The governor sets the Lt. Governor’s salary and duties. The governor could assign no duties to the Lt. Gov. and pay no salary. If this is the case, why even have a Lt. Gov?
Easy to see the money transferred from Noem’s various war chests to PAC’s to greatly support “her” candidates in the South Dakota primary election.
Mr. Spier, as long as it is after this current seating, as you would not want the Rhoden Rhangers to rhise up and wrheck your whole deal.
And remember, without Mr. Rhoden, we would not have the threat of the Rhoden gut-punch, which keeps many in the legislatures in check and subservient, as they should be. Nobody, not anybody, wants to be on the end of a Rhoden gut-punch.
All this reform stuff sounds good until you talk to the rank and file, who want a chance to go to the convention and nominate their favorite “Nut case who needs a job” for elective state office.
Mr. G. I saw this one of who you speak in action at the 2022 SD GOP convention in Watertown. He crashed an organizational meeting and started to bully a woman there. I was not impressed. It would have been fun to meet him in the old days.
Mr. Blundt, that did not work for grudznick at the Libertarian convention in 2020, when Mr. Evans was all set to name grudznick as his running mate and then he jumped off the ship and a couple of other tight rank and filers who I thought had my back failed to follow through, probably because they had toked too much.
Mr. Spier, do not even pretend to pretend that you, even in your gravy days as a fellow with a stout enough constitution in your own right, could withstand a gut-punch from Mr. Rhoden. In South Dakota, the ghosts tell Mr. Rhoden stories at the camp fires.
Mr. G. The aforementioned is merely buller pen material. I spent enough time around real cowboys and cattlemen to know what I see.