WHY I'M RUNNING

A little more than a year ago, I was taking my wife to the airport when she realized she had forgotten her phone charger. We made a quick stop at the Walmart on North 60th Street. While I was in the electronics section looking for a charger, I heard a voice call out my name.

I turned around and saw a gentleman from Baltic who had once been a customer at my video store. We started catching up, and before long he asked me what had been going on in Pierre. It was at that moment I realized he thought I was still his state representative.

I shared a few thoughts with him, then let him know I was no longer serving in the legislature. He asked what I was doing now, and I told him I was the executive director of the South
Dakota Democratic Party. He looked at me, confused, and said, “You changed parties on us?” I told him no—I had always been a Democrat. He paused for a moment and then said, “I guess I never really paid attention to that, because I knew you always had my back.” That’s what’s missing from too many of our leaders today. And the people of South Dakota need to know there are leaders who will have their back.

That’s why I'm running.

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To be a leader means being a servant. It means listening to people’s concerns and needs—because that’s how you know whether policies are working or not. For too long, too many of our elected officials have ignored the voices of the people they represent. Instead, we see them focused on issues that don’t reflect our daily lives or real needs. And when South Dakotans bring forward ballot measures to address those concerns, our leaders work to undo the will of the people and make it harder to even get issues on the ballot. That’s not listening.

As your governor, I will listen. I will be accessible. And I will focus on the issues that matter most to you. I won’t pretend to have all the answers—because I don’t. But I will do what I’ve done my entire career: build strong teams, work collaboratively, and focus on solving problems and serving people. I will work with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike to find common ground, move this state forward, and build a brighter future for everyone who calls South Dakota home.

I know there are some who will say a Democrat can’t be elected governor in a conservative state. So let me ask you this:

 

Who would you rather have—a Republican who expects your vote, or a Democrat who will work to earn it?

The last time a Democrat served as governor, we brought transparency and accountability to state budgeting. We invested in health care and built the first—and still the only—four-year medical school in the state at USD. And we established the South Dakota Retirement System, which today serves more than 105,000 South Dakotans. The truth is, no matter our party, we share the same core values. We want good schools for our kids. Affordable health care for our families. The opportunity to buy a home, to work hard, and to live a good life. Our differences aren’t about what we want—they’re about how we get there. And the beauty of our democratic process is coming together, listening to one another, and finding solutions. When we do that, real, lasting, and meaningful change happens. You deserve a leader who will do just that. You deserve a leader who will have your back.

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We deserve a better South Dakota.