Political Whispers: And the 2018 Race for South Dakota Governor Begins!

And now the race for the 2018 South Dakota governorship begins.

• Lt. Gov. Matt Michels: The lieutenant governorship, surprisingly, hasn’t been a good platform to the Big Chair but Daugaard broke the curse. Matt’s been a good soldier—or in his case as a former Navy man—sailor for Denny.
• Attorney General Marty Jackley: He may get 90 percent of the vote Tuesday night. Despite what you hear from his current opponent for AG, Chad Haber, Marty is well liked in legal circles as well as in the GOP. He’s young, handsome and smart. Depending upon how this whole EB-5 scandal turns out, I’d put him as the favorite.
• State Sen. Shantel Krebs: OK, she hasn’t been elected Secretary of State—yet. But like Marty, she is young, smart and attractive. And works like a demon and does it all with elegance. She’s the Republican’s rising star for 2018 and beyond. And it doesn’t hurt to have the Mike Rounds machine behind you.
• U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem: The rumor is this is her last election—until 2018. Look for her to not seek re-election in 2016 when she campaigns nonstop for two years (like Rounds did for the U.S. Senate). Always underestimated, never beaten. This might also get Krebs out of the way as Shantel might catch Potomac Fever and want to run for Kristi’s seat in 2016. She’d have nothing to lose since she’s still have the SOS gig.
• State Rep. Mark Mickelson: He’s my sleeper in this race. He looks almost exactly like his father, George S. and his grandfather, George T.—which means he looks like a governor. Again, young and handsome, and like his father, independent. He didn’t subscribe to all the Republican talking points as a member of the legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee as it looked into the EB-5 scandal. He came to his own conclusions, which weren’t always in line with the party line

• Former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: She’s made some good money at Raven and had a chance to spend quality time with her child. After the Rick Weiland debacle for U.S. Senate, the state Democrats wouldn’t pull the same crazy train out of the roundhouse again, would they? The former Blue Dog Democrat might not look so bad now in comparison to the stem-winding Weiland. She’s a Democrat who’s shown she can win in a really red state. She’s as close as we have to political royalty in South Dakota and she still seems to be well-liked by all even after her 2010 defeat.
• As I noted in an earlier Whisper, Sioux Falls mayor Mike Huether, Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barthand former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Lowe will be in the mix. But as I also noted, they might serve their party better as chair so it is restocked with money, volunteers, organization and direction for the coming elections. But expect at least one of them, probably the force of nature named Huether, to give it a shot. And what Mike wants, Mike gets.
• State Sen. Jason Frerichs:  The state Senate minority leader from the northeast part of the state, one of the few reliably Democratic areas left, in some ways is the guy version of Rep. Susan Wismer, the current Democratic nominee—too rural and too populist. But unlike Wismer, he comes across as more motivated (or you could say, more ambitious) and that passion is necessary in a time when the state Democratic Party isn’t just in the wilderness, it is the wilderness. Plus, he’s only 29 and looks good in a cowboy hat, which will help him West River.

So, enjoy a day or two of no campaigning for governor. By Monday, “its on” again for 2018.