State Democrats pick their candidates at convention

(AP) — South Dakota Democrats picked their candidate in what they hope will be a winnable race for secretary of state but opted not to name a challenger for state attorney general. The delegates to the state convention chose former journalist Tom Cool, who ran for auditor in 2018, to challenge Republican Monae Johnson, who beat out incumbent Secretary of State Steve Barnett. Johnson has focused her campaign on ensuring election integrity in reference to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. But the Democrats didn’t nominate a candidate to challenge Marty Jackley, the former South Dakota attorney general running to reclaim his old job after his successor was removed from office last month.

State Rep. Jennifer Keintz received enthusiastic support to be Jamie Smith’s running mate in his campaign to beat Republican incumbent Gov. Kristi Noem.

July 11, 2022