Campaign finance reports reveal high-stakes spending in key legislative races • South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota Republican legislative leaders are directing extra money toward a handful of competitive races in the state, while a few Democrats are outspending or nearly keeping pace with their Republican opponents ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.

All 105 seats in the South Dakota Legislature are on the ballot. Republicans had locks on roughly half of the seats before any votes were cast, because of Democrats’ failure to field a full slate of candidates in many districts.

Following are summaries of some races where campaign finance reports filed ahead of an Oct. 21 deadline indicated a potentially competitive contest, based on money raised and spent since last spring.

Senate District 32 (Rapid City)

The Senate race in District 32, which covers portions of central Rapid City, has shaped up as a proxy war for factions within the Republican Party.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Helene Duhamel faces a challenge from Karen McNeal, who is running as an independent while campaigning as a conservative. There is no Democrat in the race.

Duhamel raised about $72,000 and spent over $43,000. Nearly $24,000 came from individual donors, with another $40,000 from political action committees representing industries such as health care, corn growers, utilities and chambers of commerce. 

Of the political action committee money, $25,000 came from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Republican Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, and reported spending a total of $80,000 to support various candidates ahead of this election.    

McNeal collected about $17,000 in donations and spent the same. About $15,000 came from individual supporters, while Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach’s Liberty Tree PAC contributed $2,000. Odenbach’s committee targeted Republicans in the June primary that he deemed insufficiently conservative, helping to defeat 14 Republican incumbents.

House District 32 (Rapid City)

In the District 32 House race, Duhamel’s husband, incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Duffy, is in a three-way race for two seats with Republican Brook Kaufman and Democrat Nicole Uhre-Balk. Republican Rep. Kristin Conzet is not running.

Kaufman spent about $31,000, followed by Duffy’s spending of $23,000 and Uhre-Balk’s spending of $20,000.

Kaufman received $18,000 from political action committees and $12,000 from individuals, while Duffy received $19,000 from PACs and $2,000 from individuals. Uhre-Balk received $4,000 from PACs and $18,000 from individual contributions.

Senate District 34 (Rapid City)

Democrat Kehala Two Bulls is well-funded in her race against Republican former legislator Taffy Howard for the District 34 Senate seat vacated by the retiring Republican Mike Diedrich. The district covers western Rapid City and adjacent outlying areas.

Two Bulls has taken in $7,000 in contributions of $100 or less, and $16,000 in contributions over $100. In total, she’s taken in $29,000 and spent $21,000.

Howard has raised $3,500 in contributions of $100 or less, and $15,000 in contributions over $100. She’s taken in a total of $23,000 and spent $40,000, after starting with $33,000 from past campaigns. 

Toby Doeden’s Dakota First Action political action committee gave Howard $3,800. The group recently held a gala criticized by some Republicans for its inclusion of a speech from North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson, who was outed by CNN for racist and sexually explicit remarks more than a decade ago on a pornographic website’s message board. 

Senate District 12 (Sioux Falls)

In District 12, which covers a portion of southwest Sioux Falls straddling Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties, Republican incumbent Sen. Arch Beal has been out-fundraised and outspent by Democratic challenger Clay Hoffman.

Beal took in $48,000 and spent $30,000. Of his campaign contributions, $250 came from individuals giving $100 or less, and $14,250 came from people giving over that amount. Another $1,000 came from Anheuser-Busch and $1,000 from TRGU LLC, his company. Other political action committees gave another $29,000, including $15,000 from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee.

He also received $3,900 worth of campaign material and travel expenses during door-knocking events from the Students for Life Action committee, which is a group of student anti-abortion advocates. 

Hoffman took in $66,000 and spent $45,000. Of the contributions, $12,000 came from individuals giving $100 or less, and another $32,000 came from people giving over $100. Former Democratic candidate for governor Jamie Smith, who is running for Senate in District 15, contributed $1,000 from his campaign to Hoffman’s.

The Majority PAC, run by Sioux Falls Democratic state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, of Sioux Falls, who is not seeking reelection in District 15, made the largest donation to Hoffman, contributing $5,000. 

Senate, District 14 (Sioux Falls)

Another Republican state Senate incumbent being outspent by a Democratic challenger is Larry Zikmund in District 14, which covers a portion of southeast Sioux Falls.

Democrat Sandra Henry has raised $58,000 and spent $39,000. Zikmund has raised $42,000 and spent $34,000. 

Zikmund was helped by $15,000 from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. Another $12,000 of Zikmund’s campaign chest came from individuals. 

For Henry, the vast majority of contributions came from individuals, including $13,000 in contributions of $100 or less. Another $1,000 came from Nesiba’s PAC. 

Senate District 18 (Clay, Yankton counties)

District 18, which covers Yankton County and a portion of Clay County, has an open Senate seat after Republican challenger Lauren Nelson toppled Sen. Jean Hunhoff in the June primary, ending Hunhoff’s 24-year legislative career.

Nelson, of Yankton, has raised $23,000 and spent $30,000, after starting with $8,000 leftover from the primary. She took in $2,000 in donations of $100 or less. The campaign’s biggest donation was $8,000 from her and her husband. Odenbach’s Liberty Tree PAC kicked in $500. 

The Democratic candidate, Sarah Carda, also of Yankton, took in over $28,000 and spent $24,000. She received $3,500 in donations of $100 or less, and $10,000 from Nesiba’s PAC.  

House District 1 (Brown, Day, Marshall, Roberts counties)

In District 1, which covers the northeast corner of the state, six candidates are vying for the district’s two House seats: two Republicans, two Democrats and two Libertarians.

Incumbent Republican Joe Donnell did not run for reelection, and Republican incumbent Tamara St. John lost to two other Republicans in the June primary.

One of those Republicans, Logan Manhart, of Aberdeen, has taken in $14,500 and spent over $16,000. Of that, $30 came from individuals giving $100 or less and nearly $10,000 came from people giving over $100, though several names listed are companies. Manhart received $500 from Odenbach’s Liberty Tree PAC. 

Fellow Republican Christopher Reder, of Warner, took in about $8,000 and spent $8,000. Of that, $170 came from individuals giving $100 or less and $3,200 came from those giving over $100. He also received funds from Liberty Tree PAC, as well as the South Dakota Freedom Caucus PAC, another group advocating conservative positions. 

Reder and Manhart both received about $1,400 from Dakota First Action, and both attended the event that featured Mark Robinson. The House GOP PAC, chaired by House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, who criticized the Robinson event, gave Reder and Manhart $1,500 each.

Democrat Steven McCleerey, of Sisseton, raised about $21,000 and spent $16,000. Of that, $2,000 came from individuals giving $100 or less. Another $11,100 came from people giving over over $100.

Fellow Democrat Mark Sumption, of Frederick, raised and spent $11,000. His biggest contribution was $1,500 from Bluestem Initiative, a political action committee chaired by state Rep. Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls. That group gave a total of $15,500 to various candidates. 

Libertarians Josh Dennert, of Aberdeen, and Tamara Lesnar, of Grenville, raised under $2,000 combined.

House District 3 (Aberdeen)

In District 3, which covers most of Aberdeen and surrounding areas, a Democratic challenger has raised more for her campaign than either of the two Republicans in the three-way race for two seats.

The Democrat, Erin Rudner, brought in over $46,000, including a $5,000 loan from herself to her campaign. She raised $4,000 from individuals giving $100 or less, and another $22,520 from people giving over $100. One 605 Victory Fund gave her campaign its greatest contribution, of $9,500. That funding predominately came from Steve Pfeiffer, of Aberdeen.   

Term-limited Republican state Sen. Al Novstrup is attempting to switch from the Senate to the House. His campaign brought in $13,000, including a $3,700 loan from himself. Incumbent Republican Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer raised $21,000, including a $10,000 loan from herself.

Senate District 27 (Bennett, Jackson, Pennington, Oglala Lakota counties)

Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge, took in $13,000, and spent $19,000. Her committee already had $9,00 on hand. Her biggest donation was $5,000 from Nesiba’s Majority PAC.

Her Republican challenger, Anthony Kathol, took in about $8,000 and spent $12,000. His biggest reported contribution was $3,700 to his own campaign for food and gas. The second biggest was $1,250 from Foster’s 2022 Republican challenger David Jones.