South Dakota Secretary Of State Bucks Party, Endorses Democrat To

You have to hand it to Monae Johnson. The South Dakota Secretary of State just told her own party to take a hike, endorsing a Democrat for a county commission seat because she actually knows the guy. In an age where every endorsement comes with a poll-tested press release, she put her name on a man named Brad, not a brand. The reaction from the state GOP was predictably swift and predictable—they're threatening to censure her. That says everything about what the party has become. It’s less a coalition of voters and more a membership club that demands you check your conscience at the door.

Johnson didn't just throw out a generic "he's a nice guy" line. She got specific, pointing out that this Democrat was the only candidate who showed up to address a crumbling county infrastructure and a jail overcrowding crisis. She called her party out for hiding behind "R" labels while the roads literally fall apart. For a Republican elected official to say the quiet part out loud—that the letter beside a name is not a solution to a broken sewer system—is refreshing. It is also, apparently, a mortal sin in today's politics. Her endorsement wasn't an attack on conservatism; it was an attack on complacency.

The pushback Johnson is facing proves a sad truth: the machine cares more about the jersey than the player. They want uniformity, not integrity. We've watched the left do this for years, purging anyone who dares to think independently, and it’s disheartening to see the right adopt the same playbook. Voters aren't stupid. They can tell when a candidate is faking a smile for the photo op. They also know when a neighbor is a solid citizen who will serve them well, regardless of the letter after their name.

Perhaps this is a sign of the times, or perhaps Monae Johnson is just a throwback to a prairie populism that used to define the West River. Either way, she has more spine than most of the men in her party’s caucus. If the GOP wants to punish her for putting the concerns of the community over the demands of the tribe, they will only prove her point—that they care more about wielding power than they do about the people they were sent to represent. That is a losing hill to die on. And in South Dakota, that is saying something.