Kristi PAC sent $25K to pro-life group. A nonprofit gave abortion advocate 21 times that
Two political committees, one sponsored by Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and another by her second-in-command, are sending a cash infusion to a group opposing an abortion measure.
No G for SD, a ballot question committee formed by Kathy Thorsen, a Rapid City banking executive, reported a $25,000 donation from Noem's PAC, Keeping Republican Ideas Strong Timely & Inventive, according to a campaign finance statement uploaded to the Secretary of State's website on Sunday.
The ballot question committee is opposed to Amendment G, a ballot measure which, if passed, would establish a constitutional right to abortion and outlines a legal framework for regulating abortions.
South Dakota banned abortion, except "to preserve life of [a] pregnant female," after a 2005 trigger law went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The law did not allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest while also making it a class 6 felony to administer or procure an abortion for someone.
South Dakota Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden also donated $10,000 to the anti-abortion committee.
The donation report indicates both groups made their contributions on Friday.
It's a small chunk of change compared with the $540,000 handed to Dakotans for Health, the primary sponsors of Amendment G, by Think Big America, an abortion rights group founded by Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Of that, $500,000 was distributed Oct. 22, one day after the pre-general disclosure report deadline for ballot question committees.
Think Big America is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, also known as a social welfare group. These types of political nonprofits are occasionally called "dark money" organizations, since they are not required to publicly reveal the names of their donors.
The donation marks a significant fundraising effort for Dakotans for Health, which received a little over $291,000 in contributions from individuals and $7,200 from entities and PACs between the June primary and Oct. 21.
Since No on G for SD's formation in September, the organization has out-raised Dakotans for Health, receiving hundreds of thousand of dollars from notable South Dakota donors and several religion-affiliated groups.
Prior to the pre-general deadline, the group raised more than $678,000 in contributions from individuals, more than $350,000 from entities, and more than $111,000 in donated goods or services.
This included a $100,000 contribution from Tammie Broin, wife of Jeff Broin, who founded Sioux Falls-headquartered POET Biofuels, the world's largest corn-ethanol production companies. Another family member, Miriam Broin, gave $15,000.
Julie Lautt, Avera Health's chief financial officer and wife of Jeff Lautt, president of POET, made a $10,000 donation, according to a donor disclosure document.
Knights of Columbus, a national Catholic fraternal organization with a South Dakota chapter, provided the group $200,000. An administrative office associated with the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls donated $140,000.
A pre-general election disclosure report shows the group poured the majority of their donated income — $952,000 — into advertising.
No G for SD's YouTube channel, created Oct. 8, displays four 30-second commercial videos, three of which are centered around an unnamed mother, teacher and doctor who oppose the constitutional amendment.
According to a statewide poll released Oct. 21 and conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, with non-profit news outlet South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota as co-sponsors, support for Amendment G maintains a slim lead over the opposition.
The survey of 500 registered voters polled from Oct. 12 to 16 saw 49.8% in support of and 46.8% opposed to the ballot measure, while 3.4% remain undecided. The poll contains a 4.5% margin of error.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Noem-backed PAC sent $25K to anti-abortion group opposing Amendment G
