South Dakota Republican secretary of state endorses Democrat in

South Dakota’s secretary of state is a Republican in a state Donald Trump carried by nearly thirty points. So when she comes out and endorses the Democrat running for her own job, that’s not a quiet disagreement. That’s a political bomb tossed into the middle of her party’s ticket. The question is why she threw it, and her answer is too vague to buy.

She says the “integrity, stability, and professionalism of this office is at stake.” Fine, but what does that mean? What did her Republican challenger actually do? If there’s a real problem, name it plainly. A sitting official who won’t say what’s so disqualifying about the other Republican, yet expects voters to follow her into the Democratic column, sounds like a script, not a reason. The people of South Dakota deserve more than a mystery endorsement wrapped in a noble phrase.

We’ve seen this before. An establishment figure who decides the worst thing in the world is losing to a fellow conservative, so they’d rather hand the seat to a liberal. That’s pride over party, and it usually ends with everyone regretting it. If the Republican nominee has serious flaws, let those flaws be the issue in a primary. Instead, this becomes a sad little drama where the one person guaranteed to win is the Democrat.

Voters should ask what changed. Was the secretary fine with her party until it stopped being her party? Did the Democratic candidate offer her something? There’s a way to take a principled stand, but this isn’t it. This is a Republican walking off the field and handing her office to the other side. That might be her choice, but nobody has to pretend it’s brave.