If still black or orange, we don't have enough information yet to make a recommendation, or there is only one candidate.

Election: 2024 Primary

Many of the races only have one candidate; we will not be discussing them, for the most part.

	Race	Candidates
Statewide	House	Dusty Johnson - Repulican

District 1 -- Brown, Day, Marshall, Roberts, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Michael H. Rohl -- 30% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats SD House Logan Manhart -- In 2023, he spent a year in the Secretary of State's office working for Secretary of State Monae Johnson. Christopher Reder Dana L Pullfrey -- Democrat Stephen D. McCleerey -- Democrat Tamara J St. John -- 25% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats

District 2 -- Brown, Clark, Hamlin, Spink, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Steve Kolbeck -- 40.9% SD Citizens for Liberty score. SD House David Kull -- 33% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats John Sjaarda -- 95.2% SD Citizens for Liberty score. Jake Schoenbeck -- son of Lee Schoenbeck; on an interview he mentioned that he has a more "modern view on things" than his father, which can be a scary thought when you check out Lee Schoenbeck's voting record.

District 3 -- Brown County

Race Candidates SD Senate Carl E. Perry -- terrible voting record, including voting on 2021-SB3, to confine people in their homes if believed to have covid 57% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats; however, because of the candidate running against him, we recommend voting for Perry. Katherine (Katie) Washnok SD House Al Novstrup -- terrible voting record, 57% Citizens for Liberty Score, including voting on 2021-SB3, to confine people in their homes if believed to have covid; previously registered Democrat. Switching from Senate Brandei Schaefbauer -- 66% SD Citizens for Liberty score, Erin Rudner -- Democrat

District 4 -- Brookings, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Fred Deutsch -- poor voting record, including voting on 2021-SB3, to confine people in their homes if believed to have covid, but is the better candidate in this race Switching from house 68% SD Citizens for Liberty score Stephanie Sauder -- 40% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty Scorecard Switching from House SD House Kent Roe Barbara Guenette Dylan Jordan Vanessa Namken

District 5 -- Codington County

Race Candidates SD Senate Glen Vilhauer Russell Ronke -- Democrat SD House Byron Callies -- 54% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats Matt Roby Amy D. Rambow -- Democrat Diane M.  Drake -- Democrat Josephine Garcia

District 6 -- Lincoln County

Race Candidates SD Senate Ernie Otten -- 57% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Switching from House SD House Aaron Aylward -- 95% conservative score on the Citizens for Liberty scorecard Wendi Hogan Garret M Campbell Herman Otten

District 7 -- Brookings County

Race Candidates SD Senate Tim Reed -- 30% conservative score on the Citizens for Liberty scorecard Patty Bacon -- Democrat SD House Jeffrey Struwe -- Bullet vote only for Struwe -- don't dilute the vote by voting for anyone else. Cole Sartell -- Democrat Penny S Hauffe -- Democrat Mellissa Heermann -- 40% conservative score. Roger DeGroot -- 47% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats

District 8 -- Lake, Miner, Moody, Sanborn, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Casey Crabtree -- 40% conservative score on the Citizens for Liberty scorecard Rick Weible -- Weible is a fighter for transparent elections, and has tirelessly put in his own time to travel the state showing evidence of fraud. Also, he has prepared for and spoken in front of many committees in Pierre. SD House Tim Reisch -- 40.9% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats Tim Walburg Matt Wagner -- Strong conservative. Bullet vote for him -- don't dilute the vote by voting for anyone else in this house race.

District 9 -- Minnehaha County

Race Candidates SD Senate Mark Willadsen -- Helped usher in Obamacare laws. Liberal legislator. 19% low scorecard. Joy Hohn -- Vocal supporter of property rights. Commercial pilot. SD House Bethany Soye -- 90% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Daryl Christensen Beverly Froslie Johnson -- Democrat Kristi Golden Tesa Schwans -- Family of ranchers/farmers. Small business owner. Conservative Christian values

District 10 -- Minnehaha County

Race Candidates SD Senate Liz Larson -- Democrat 21% SD Citizens for Liberty score. SD House Erin Healy -- Democrat 23% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Kameron Nelson -- Democrat 28% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Bobbi L Andera

District 11 -- Minnehaha County

Race Candidates SD Senate Steve Natz -- Democrat Chris Karr -- 85% SD Citizens for Liberty score SD House Aaron Matson -- Democrat Bill Linsenmeyer Brian K Mulder -- 36.4% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats John C. Kunnari Keri K Weems -- According to Dakota War College, "Former State Representative Keri Weems, who was originally appointed by Governor Mike Rounds on January 14, 2003, to fill the vacancy of Mike Jaspers, and returned twice more to run to represent her district before declining another term of office" Sonja Mentzer -- Democrat

District 12 -- Lincoln, Minnehaha, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Arch Beal -- 81% SD Citizens for Liberty score. Clay Hoffman -- Democrat SD House Amber Arlint -- 36% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats Erin Royer -- Democrat Greg Jamison -- 38% conservative score. JR Anderson -- Democrat Manny Steele -- Former legislator. 77.8% conservative score in 2020.

District 13 -- Lincoln, Minnehaha, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Sue Peterson -- 66% SD Citizens for Liberty score. Ali Rae Horsted -- Democrat SD House Tony Vanhuizen -- 42.9% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats Penny BayBridge -- Fighter for election integrity John Hughes Brad Jankord -- Seems to be promoted by the establishment

District 14 -- Minnehaha County

Race Candidates SD Senate Larry P Zikmund -- 50% SD Citizens for Liberty score Sandra Henry -- Democrat SD House Tony Kayser -- Vote only for him in the primary, please Tyler Tordsen -- 35% score on SD Citizens for Liberty scorecard Taylor Rae Rehfeldt -- Rehfeldt is a supporter of big government and giving up South Dakota sovereignty to other states via compacts and other agreements. She is a very poor representative of conservative values, and in fact received a 33% score from SD Citizens for Liberty. B.J. Motley -- Democrat Keith Block -- Democrat

District 15 -- Minnehaha County

Race Candidates SD Senate Brenda Lawrence Jamie Smith -- Democrat SD House Brad Lindwurm -- Ambassador at Live Action; Joni Tschetter -- Priorities: SUPPORTING LIFE & FAMILY VALUES JOBS & DEVELOPMENT EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN Erik Muckey -- Democrat Kadyn Wittman -- Democrat

District 16 -- Lincoln, Union, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Eric Hohman Kevin D Jensen -- 81% SD Citizens for Liberty score. SD House Brian J Burge Karla J Lems -- Strong fighter for property rights. 95.3% score with SD Citizens for Liberty Richard Vasgaard Matthew Carl Ness -- Democrat

District 17 -- Clay, Turner, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Jeffrey Church Sydney Davis -- 28.6% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats SD House Bill Shorma -- 61% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Evidently, Shorma voted against property rights by supporting SB201. Carson Merkwan -- (Successful Challenge - Decertified 04/12/2024) Chris Kassin Robin J. Shiro Ray King -- Democrat

District 18 -- Yankton County

Race Candidates SD Senate Jean M Hunhoff -- 55% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Lauren Nelson Dennis Menke -- Democrat SD House Julie Auch -- Great defender of property rights. 85% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Mike Stevens -- 38% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, lower than some Democrats. John R Marquardt Paul Harens -- Democrat Sarah Mechtenberg -- Democrat

District 19 -- Bon Homme, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Kyle Schoenfish -- terrible voting record, including voting for 2021-SB3 to confine you to your house. 28% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, worse than some Democrats. SD House Jessica Bahmuller -- 70% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Drew Peterson -- 33% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, worse than some Democrats. Stephen Mettler

District 20 -- Aurora, Davison, Jerauld, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Paul Miskimins Gary Steichen -- Democrat SD House Ben Krohmer -- 81% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Jeff Bathke Don Schmidt -- Democrat John Schmidt -- Democrat

District 21 -- Charles Mix, Gregory, Tripp, Aurora, Douglas, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Erin Tobin -- 40% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, worse than some Democrats. Dan Andersson -- Democrat Mykala Voita -- Priorities: Pro-Life Preserving Private Property Rights & Local control Small Government Put on 30x30 agenda public informational meetings and successfully brought a 30x30 resolution to the county commission, successfully brought 2A Sanctuary County Resolutions to Gregory County, and now has been pushing for election transparency by requesting hand counting elections in Gregory County. SD House Marty Overweg -- 85.7% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Jim Halverson Lee Qualm

District 22 -- Beadle, Kingsbury, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate David Wheeler -- 40% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, worse than some Democrats Jim A. Schmidt -- Democrat SD House Kevin Van Diepen Lana Greenfield -- Only a 66.7% CFL score, but evidently better than the alternatives. Terry Nebelsick

District 23 -- Campbell, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, McPherson, Potter, Spink, Walworth, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Mark Lapka Stephen Ray Roseland SD House Spencer Gosch -- Previous legislator. Strong 90% SD Citizens for Liberty score James D. Wangsness -- Terrible 31% score on SD Citizens for Liberty scorecard, lower than some Democrats. Scott Moore

District 24 -- Hughes, Hyde, Stanley, Sully, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Jim Mehlhaff -- 57% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. SD House Mike Weisgram Will D.  Mortenson -- 38% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, worse than some Democrats.

District 25 -- Minnehaha County

Race Candidates SD Senate Tom Pischke -- 90.5% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Jordan Youngberg -- Quite the fundraiser... interesting donations from some of our "favorites". SD House Jon Hansen -- 85% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Les Heinemann Brian Wirth -- Democrat

District 26 -- Brule, Buffalo, Jones, Lyman, Mellette, Todd, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Tamara Grove Shawn Bordeaux -- Democrat SD House Ron Frederick Eric E. Emery -- Democrat Rebecca Reimer

District 27 -- Bennett, Haakon, Jackson, Pennington, Oglala Lakota, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Bruce Whalen -- Good conservative. Ran against Thune in 2022. Red Dawn Foster -- Democrat. More conservative than many Republicans. 60% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Anthony G Kathol Gerald M Cournoyer Jr -- Democrat SD House Liz May -- 84% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Elsie M Meeks -- Democrat

District 28 -- Butte, Corson, Dewey, Harding, Perkins, Ziebach, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Sam Marty -- Consistently in the 90s% on the CFL Scorecards when previously in the legislature. Dean Schrempp -- Democrat Susan M. Peterson SD House Travis Ismay -- Ismay is a hard-working patriot. He is involved with the Concerned Citizens of Butte county, as well as fighting to keep marijuana illegal in South Dakota. Jana Hunt Ryan Maher -- 61% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Travis W Martin Carl J. Petersen -- Democrat

District 29 -- Meade, Pennington, Butte, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate John Carley -- A conservative businessman with strong convictions who is staunchly pro-life, pro-Constitution and pro-rule-of-law. Kirk Chaffee -- Chaffee Voted: against gun rights, for virtually all tax bill increases, for 2 of 3 bad anti- property eminent domain bills, against Noem to make SD first federal digital currency, against boy/girl on birth certificate, and to confine people to their homes with covid. Has a 47% CFL score aligned with democrats, and a 33% American Conservative Union score. SD House Kathy Rice -- A mother and conservative principled person. She believes in small government and responsible spending. Gary Cammack -- Cammack has a terrible voting record; check out the scorecard. He is definitely not a conservative. He voted for 2021-SB3 which gave power to non-elected bureaucrats at the Department of Health to confine citizens to their home if they believe they have Covid. 38.1% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats Terri Jorgenson -- Christian. Said she was asked to run by the Rhodens and Meade Co. GOP (in a race where there were already two Republican candidates).

District 30 -- Custer, Fall River, Pennington, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Amber Hulse Julie Frye-Mueller -- 100% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Forrest Foster Brett Swanson -- Democrat SD House Stephen Saint Trish Ladner -- 71% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Matt Smith -- Smith is the host of "Straight Up with Matt Smith." He is a strong conservative. Matthew Monfore -- Monfore is a pastor and patriot. He is a strong conservative. Pat Baumann -- A grassroots advocate with steadfast principles. He is a strong conservative Tim Goodwin -- Goodwin is a former legislator. 59% score with SD Citizens for Liberty. Susan Scheirbeck -- Democrat

District 31 -- Lawrence County

Race Candidates SD Senate Kate Crowley-Johnson Randy Deibert -- 38% score with SD Citizens for Liberty, worse than some Democrats SD House Scott Odenbach -- 86% SD Citizens for Liberty score. Mark Mowry Mary Fitzgerald -- 57% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats

District 32 -- Pennington County

Race Candidates SD Senate Helene Duhamel -- 28% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats, and one of the lowest scores of all. SD House Brook Kaufman John Robert James -- James is a strong patriot, a member of SD Citizens for Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty. Nicole Uhre-Balk -- Democrat Steve Duffy -- 33% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats. Also, he is Helene Duhamel's husband, and a registered Democrat until he decided to run for office here.

District 33 -- Meade, Pennington, Counties

Race Candidates SD Senate Curt Voight -- Attends Rimrock church Former school principle David Johnson -- 35% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats SD House Phil Jensen -- great voting record, 100% SD Citizens for Liberty score Curt Massey -- 42% SD Citizens for Liberty score

District 34 -- Pennington County

Race Candidates SD Senate Taffy Howard -- Excellent candidate -- has been in the legislature before, and has great conservative scores... Earlier Scorecards Jason Green Michael Calabrese -- Democrat SD House Heather Baxter -- Baxter is a strong conservative, America first patriot. Mike Derby -- 28% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats Becky J Drury -- 28% SD Citizens for Liberty score, worse than some Democrats

District 35 -- Pennington County

Race Candidates SD Senate Greg Blanc -- Pastor of Calvary Chapel Rapid City Curtis Nupen Michael A Walsh -- Just moved from East river and was appointed to the senate. Has been voting with the Democrats the entire session. SD House Tony Randolph -- Excellent legislator. Voted correctly on many bills, especially the freedom robbing 2021-SB3 -- voted no. Randolph is a strong conservative and needs to be kept in the legislature. 100% Conservative score on Citizens for Liberty scorecard Tina L Mulally -- A conservative with a strong voting record. 100% SD Citizens for Liberty score. One of the founders of the Freedom Caucus in SD. Pat Cromwell -- Democrat Jason Lind -- Democrat