This is going to sound like a hit piece. Critics will call it personal or sore-loserism from a 2022 Congressional Race loss. But here’s the reality: I don’t hate or consider Representative Dusty Johnson my enemy today, nor did I back in 2022 when I debated him on PBS.
There are things about Representative Johnson I don’t like, such as his policies and recent political tactics. Still, my experience with him always seemed straight up, even though it was adversarial. This Governor’s Race has revealed a different Dusty, one that hasn’t shown his face before.
The negative ads against his opponents in the primary, funded by pro-Johnson PACs and allies, have defied the idea of “Friendly” Dusty Johnson, revealing the cutthroat politician that years in Washington, D.C., have crafted him into. One of the first things he ever told me was that it’s impossible to walk the Halls of Congress without picking up a few barnacles. Today, that appears true.
One Million Three Hundred Thousand Dollars. That’s roughly how much pro-Johnson PACs have spent on ads attacking his opponents this cycle: primarily Governor Larry Rhoden. Rushmore Principles hit Rhoden on sales taxes. Johnson said he didn’t approve the ad, but added: “It’s clear this PAC supports me… I don’t disagree with any of the facts”. Rhoden also alleges Johnson threatened to “drop a million bucks on his head” through super PACs to keep him out of the race.
He has claimed Larry Rhoden is the most tax-hungry governor ever. While I’m not here to stump for Governor Rhoden, Johnson’s claims don’t pass a litmus test of honesty when you consider many of his quoted tax agendas are local-option or swaps signed at the county or city level, not the Governor’s desk.
His attacks against Jon Hansen have been as bad, just not as frequent. Hansen has been on the ground with running mate Karla Lems beside the people for the last 5 years. When Summit Carbon Solutions threatened landowners with eminent domain, Hansen and Lems helped lead the effort against the pipeline. Dusty Johnson never said a word about those trials, but was quick to claim credit for outcomes won by others.
Regarding Toby Doeden, Dusty has done everything he can to pretend he doesn’t exist. Toby, in many ways, represents the antithesis of Representative Johnson and embodies the mover-and-shaker spirit of someone who spent decades in the private sector.
The dose of reality is that, while I don’t hate Dusty Johnson, it’s time for South Dakota to move on. We cannot have someone leading our State who has spent only 4 years in the private sector as an adult. He doesn’t know what our struggles are because he’s never had to feel them. Nearly every job he’s had has been for either the State or the Federal Government. He is the establishment boogeyman that populists tell bedtime stories about.
Sometimes, and it pains me to say this, you have to be strategic. The best chance to keep “Governor” off Dusty Johnson’s resume is voting for Governor Larry Rhoden.
If I could pick the winner of the four-way race, I wouldn’t select either one of them. But the math is clear, and that means gritting your teeth before filling Governor Rhoden’s circle on the ballot.
I’ve been at odds with Larry a few times now. Whether it was my argument with him at Lynn’s Dakotamart in Sturgis or on the phone after I made a social media post about him, I learned something. He’s a real person, not a typical politician. He’s not afraid of plain talk, and I think if he were a few years younger, we might have had a wrestling match in that parking lot at the grocery store. He’s done things I don’t like, but there’s a reason most of the PAC money backing Dusty has gone to drag down Larry.
Larry Rhoden voters would be Dusty’s voters — if only Larry weren’t in the race. It’s why Rhoden says Dusty tried to pressure him into quitting before the race began. It’s why Dusty-aligned PACs fund negative campaign ads against Rhoden.
South Dakota law triggers a runoff on July 28 if no candidate gets 35% on June 2. Polling has Johnson at 34%, with Hansen, Rhoden, and Doeden all between 17% and 18%.
In a runoff, who Dusty faces matters. If it’s Dusty against Hansen or Doeden, Rhoden’s voters likely break for Dusty, and he wins. If it’s Dusty against Rhoden…Hansen and Doeden’s voters have ranked Dusty last, and those votes could put Rhoden over the top.
I’ve always said the only wasted vote is a vote you don’t believe in. But if your goal is ensuring Dusty Johnson isn’t the Republican nominee to face Democrat Dan Ahlers in November, then the primary requires tactical thinking.
Hansen and Doeden supporters will decide how far this goes. If their priority is stopping Dusty, then the data says the path runs through Larry Rhoden on June 2. That’s not an endorsement of Rhoden’s record. It’s arithmetic, and the math is simple: A vote for anyone but Larry Rhoden on June 2 is a vote for Dusty Johnson on July 28th.
Collin Duprel is a guest columnist for the Rapid City Post. Opinions expressed may not necessarily represent the views of the Rapid City Post, its affiliates, or advertisers.
