Minnehaha County State’s Attorney office to become a very, very, very Dark Place

1. Things are going to start getting real interesting around here with that family in the State’s Attorney office. #BEWARE!

2. I’m disappointed. There’s an evident insider royalty in this city. The usual, I’m getting used to it. The result will be more lengthy imprisoned blacks and country club one month home detention millionaires. The man that steals milk for his children gets jail. The Trump-like who takes bankruptcy for millions gets praise and a golden retirement bonus.

3. Of what or whom do you speak? The other one and the history?

4. because the dems/libs have provided so much social justice across this country- just look at how Amy K kept the bad cops out of Minneapolis

5. OMG! The skies are falling!

6. The Democratic Party did not put up a candidate to deny the GOP Primary winner after holding the office since the 1980s. No Independent or Third party filed to run.

   So it is hard to win if you don’t play. Another failure of recruiting.

7. Amy K is a liberal Democrat? She reminds me more of a Blue Dog.

8. Listen, in the age of Barr, in the age when a president uses the military against peaceful protesters, and in an age when the local police channel protesters to a mall, we should be concerned when a local winning state’s attorney candidate, who doesn’t even live in the county he sought such an office, proudly refers to himself as a ‘Conservative Republican’.

9. Still waiting to hear about his family connections are so bad. Sorry, I don’t know him or his family and am curious why there is such outrage. Did not hear anything about this before the election.

10. The Democratic Party looked for a candidate, but its hard to get Democratic candidates to run for these offices. Attorneys belong to a tight clique, or want too.

    McGowan, the last Democratic state’s attorney had been in office since 2004, I believe, and those were different times, when Democrats had greater confidence and a stronger commitment to party philosophy.

    I believe the lack of a Democratic candidate also speaks to the growing elitism in this town among some in the Democratic Party who are best position to find a SA candidate, and further explains why Billon and Heidepriem supported Jensen.

11. 2012 and not 2004, but there has been a continuum which has been lost, especially given the controversy surrounding McGowan.

    I also got to thinking, that before the Johnson/Haggar reign, the Democrats have controlled that office since 1984. Jacquine Hanson, Gary’s cousin, was the last Republican State’s Attorney in Minnehaha, but he lost to Tim Wilka in ’84, then Wilka lost to Dave Nelson in a Democratic primary four years later, with McGowan taking over after Nelson’s retirement in ’12.

    So, we are definitely walking into a whole new world, especially when our new state’s attorney proudly brands himself as a “Conservative Republican” and Minnehaha is turning blue.

12. VSG, Kasey Oliver was mentioned early on. I get it that someone who is in the private sector might make more money in a private firm, but you can’t tell me there isn’t ONE hungry and/or ambitious lawyer out there that doesn’t want to make their mark in law and politics. It is a county wide race, show management you could also be Mayor; or run for Attorney General someday or work on criminal justice reform from inside the largest county. It is a management and leadership position and high profile in the largest growing city. Just some food for thought.

13. John, why isn’t Kasey running for the state senate in 12? I am not expecting you to answer that question, but the fact she isn’t says many things to me.

    As far as the SA job, there wasn’t any real interest. Even the state party was looking.

    There’s a growing corporatist mindset within the the South Dakota Democratic Party. Many are more into branding than philosophy, and when that happens, there are fewer and fewer people interested in taking the hill with the Democratic flag in hand, or taking one for the team.

14. VSG, I heard Kasey had a falling out with her old firm and then she only recently went out on her own about a year ago and so I imagine trying to make ends meet.

    Fair enough but no one else was willing to try. As you said in a county turning more blue. You have to build a bench and try. GOP Mayor and council, SA and Sheriff. Dems should be competitive in some of these races at least.

15. John, Sheriff is really hard. We haven’t had a Democratic sheriff in Minnehaha since 1970-74. Jo ran for mayor in ’18, and was a Democrat. Like the SA office, you are limited to a given profession, then you have to find a Democrat within it who will run.

    Too many of my fellow Dems are too interested in branding or messaging. As long as they don’t care about GOTV and voter registration, then Democratic successes in Minnehaha and throughout the state will be limited.

16. There are two Republican camps in SD. Establishment and Conservative. The Establishment is currently dominant and are often aligned with libertarian (Koch) American’s for Prosperity. Don Haggar, father, is the state director. It’s unlikely that Dan, son, is a conservative. Establishment Republicans often disingenuously and the conservative modifier because it holds value amongst the casual voter but is rarely followed through in principle by the candidate. As a result, you get cliche behavior. Because the Democrat Party is so feckless in SD, the establishment spends it’s energy encircling themselves from the conservative elements of the party. For example, the Party supports boutique visas and Open Borders. Very libertarian and not conservative at the expense of native South Dakotans.

17. SE,

    Dan’s commercial said he was a ‘Conservative
    Republican’.

    Plus, the Kochs’ and their AfP organization are opposed to Trump’s immigration policies.

18. A disingenuous modifier. Establishment Dusty and Rounds just voted to expand h2B. Kuschner is working immigration.

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