Eight independent candidates have stood up to give voters in five more districts choices in November.
In District 8, Clint Hoyer of Winfred has entered the Senate race, preventing incumbent Republican Casey Crabtree of Madison from walking to reëlection without an opponent. Hoyer contributed $1,600 to South Dakota Property Rights PAC in fall 2024 to support its campaign to overturn 2024 SB 201, the dubious property rights reform bill that opponents of carbon dioxide pipelines that Senator Crabtree sponsored.
To the east in District 25, Bryan J. Breitling of Dell Rapids is running as an independent for Senate. Like Hoyer, Breitling is preventing an incumbent Republican, in this case Senator Tom Pischke of Dell Rapids, from returning to Pierre without a fight. Breitling represented District 23 in the Senate as a Republican before he moved from Miller to Dell Rapids. He’s now apparently part of a campaign by mainstream Republican stalwarts, including former Governor Dennis Daugaard, to oust Pischke and his radical right-wingery from the Legislature.
To the north in District 4, Samuel Froehlke of Toronto is throwing his independent hat into an already crowded ring of House candidates. District 4 already has three Republicans—Gary William Hudiburgh III of Gary, Ryan Kohl of Molbank, and former legislator Fred Deutsch of Florence—primarying the two incumbent Republicans—Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake and Kent Roe of Hayti—plus Democrat Emilia Enquist of Revillo waiting to challenge the primary winners in November. Froehlke, who works at Roelofsen’s Implement in Toronto, is running on a property rights platform.
Northwest toward Mobridge, dairy farmer Garett Heinz of Ipswich has filed as an independent for House. District 23 has three Republicans competing in the primary—incumbent Representative Spencer Gosch of Glenham, SDGOP fundraising chair and pardoned drunk driver Amber Werdel of Ree Heights, and former legislator Dick Werner of Herreid—but no Democrats. Heinz thus prevents the primary winners from advancing to Pierre without a November contest. Heinz has been vocal in his opposition to CO2 pipelines.
Finally, out west, three independent candidates have filed for District 27 House: Elizabeth Lone Eagle of Kyle, Jay Yohner of Martin, and Joe Flood of Manderson. Lone Eagle originally filed as a Democrat, but her first petition was challenged and rejected. Yohner, who runs a hardware store in his hometown, was elected Bennett County commissioner in 2024. The only partisan candidate on the ballot is incumbent Republican Liz May of Kyle; absent the independents’ entry, voters not only would have had not vote on their representation but would have ceded one of their seats to appointment by the next Governor.
The Libertarians, the only other recognized party in South Dakota, have yet to nominate any candidates for Legislature. As an alternative party, the Libertarians may Legislative and statewide candidates at their convention tomorrow in Chamberlain.
In 2024, seven independents ran for Legislative seats in five districts.
Well after looking at the list I would recommend Joe Flood from Manderson.