Jamie Smith announces intention to run for South Dakota Senate in District 15

Former gubernatorial candidate and state House Representative Jamie Smith announced Monday his intention to run for South Dakota Senate in 2024, ending speculation about which Democrat would run for the seat currently held by Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba.

Originally, Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls, had expressed interest in running for the seat Nesiba will vacate at the end of 2024. She's in her third term in the House and could have run for either chamber. But life had other plans, Duba said during a press event held Monday at the downtown Sioux Falls Library.

She's going to be a grandmother.

"I said to myself, so how are you going to justify doing the will of people at 100% and also serving the needs of your family and being involved in that grandchild's life," Duba said.

Nesiba and Duba are two of the more vocal Democrats in the 105 member Legislature, 11 of whom are Democrats. Both have been critical about the state's need to get involved in finding solutions for the childcare crisis. Nesiba has championed removing the sales tax from groceries while in office. Duba has unsuccessfully pushed for stricter gun control legislation at the state level.

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Nesiba has been in the Senate since 2018, serving four terms. He is ineligible to run for a fifth term, according to the state Constitution. While he could run for the House, Nesiba said Monday he had no plans to do so.

Seven senators are ineligible to run for Senate including Sioux Falls Republicans Jack Kolbeck and Jim Stalzer. Sen. Jim Bolin, R-Canton, is also ineligible to run for his seat.

Smith's return to the campaign trail comes after he lost the 2022 Gubernatorial Election to Gov. Kristi Noem, with 62% of South Dakotans voting to keep the first woman governor in office.

"I've been on the sidelines for a little while," Smith said. "It's time to be back in the game. And I'm excited about the opportunity that I have here today to run and run hard."

Smith added that during his time away from politics he found that he still wanted to advocate for the people of the state he served in the past.

"I still have a lot of fire in me to make those changes and to work together to try to make South Dakota the best state it can be and we can do that by working together," he said.

Newcomer announces intention to run

Hoping to fill Duba's House seat in District 15, Erik Muckey, the chair of the Minnehaha County Democratic Party, also announced he will run.

"I can't think of any two people I'm so proud to follow in their legacy than these two so I'm really grateful to step forward and run for the House of Representatives," Muckey said.

Muckey, who is a sixth generation South Dakotan and grew up in Corsica, is the current chief executive officer of Lost&Found, a nonprofit dedicated to youth suicide prevention and postvention.

Muckey said Monday he's worn many hats, from economic development consulting to running a nonprofit, and is excited to step into a new challenge.

“I work every day to help the state and the people in this state using my skills but what I think are the most important kind of service that I can offer at this point in my career, is actually lifting up my skills and my talents to help those who do not have a voice at the table in Pierre,” he said.

Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, also announced she will run for re-election in the House.

South Dakota Democrats look to add seats in upcoming election

Nesiba said Monday the party, which has had its share of ups and downs the past few years, is stronger than it has ever been before.

The South Dakota Democratic Party announced in mid-December it hired two new staffers, including a communications manager, and Dan Ahlers had stepped back into his role of Executive Director after announcing his resignation this summer during a period that saw the chair of the party ousted.

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"We are raising money, we are better organized and we're going to compete far more fiercely than we have in the past," Nesiba said.

Ahlers was in attendance at the press event Monday.

Duba added the Democrats are dedicated to finding quality candidates who want to run and serve in Pierre.

Reflecting on the past

While Duba and Nesiba said they weren't going to leave the Legislature quietly ahead of the 99th Legislative session, which starts on Jan. 9 in Pierre, they were reflective of what they had accomplished during their time in office.

Nesiba said he was proud of having been able to work with the Governor's team to expand Medicaid coverage to pregnant mothers 12 months after they gave birth. He was also able to work with Republican lawmakers to pass a law that allowed the driver's license test to be administered in Spanish in 2020.

Duba said she was proud to have helped pass funding for the 211 helpline days before the COVID-19 pandemic brought things to a standstill in 2020.

"It's been extremely helpful," she said. "But more importantly, I think serving on the Appropriations Committee, serving alongside my fellow legislator Reynold Nesiba, we pass some of the most comprehensive and historic budgets in the history of the state, especially last year... We gave historic increases to education, to our service providers, to our nursing homes, to our state employees."

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Jamie Smith, former gubernatorial candidate, to run for SD Senate