South Dakotans turned against recreational use of marijuana after passing it in 2020 – voting down Initiated Measure 27 yesterday, November 8.
With 99% of precincts reporting, Initiated Measure 27 is failing with 47-percent of voters voting “yes” and 53-percent voting “no,” as of 5:30 a.m. the day after polls closed.
IM 27 would have legalized marijuana in small amounts for people age 21 and older. Opponents to IM 27 have said legal marijuana will increase marijuana use for kids and not help foster healthy families.
Protecting South Dakota Kids, who led the opposition to the measure, reported raising $427,186 in its pre-election filing and spent $351,740 mostly on advertising.
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South Dakota voters have approved the expansion of Medicaid health insurance to tens of thousands of low-income residents through a constitutional amendment.
South Dakota is the 39th state to expand eligibility for the government health insurance program under the Affordable Care Act.
The amendment will extend Medicaid to those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level — currently about $18,800 for an individual or $38,300 for a family of four.
The Republican-controlled Legislature had long resisted expanding Medicaid eligibility, and GOP Gov. Kristi Noem opposed it.
But a coalition of South Dakota health care groups and progressive organizations backed a well-funded ballot campaign this year.
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John Fitzgerald was the winner in a five way race for an open judge spot in the Fourth Circuit.
The spot in Position D was previously held by Kevin Krull, who stepped down this past summer.
Five candidates filed to fill the position, and voters selected Fitzgerald in Tuesday’s election. He garnered 36-percent, or 8,124 votes.
Also running were Chad Callahan, David Natvig, Jennifer Tomac and Tina Hogue.
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has defeated a Democratic state lawmaker to win reelection.
Noem leaned heavily on her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a first term marked by positioning for a possible White House bid in 2024.
The Republican governor eased past state Rep. Jamie Smith after raising more than $15 million via a nationwide fundraising network.
Noem has said she would serve a full four-year term if reelected, but she generated speculation about higher political ambitions by becoming a fixture in conservative media and making appearances in key 2024 states.
Her fundraising haul was a historic amount of money for a South Dakota gubernatorial candidate.
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Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson has won reelection to his third term representing South Dakota’s only U.S. House district.
He won easily in a race in which Democrats didn’t field a candidate.
The 46-year-old Republican’s only competition, Libertarian Collin Duprel, didn’t report raising or spending any money in the campaign.
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Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota has won reelection to a fourth term.
He will return to the Senate and is expected to make a bid to become the next GOP leader.
Thune cruised to victory in South Dakota with a large fundraising advantage over Democrat Brian Bengs.
He is the second-ranking Senate Republican, and he is seen as a potential pick to someday succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell.
