Not every Republican is the same…

There’s a lot to be said about the Republican Party, and it begins with “big tent.” This is intended to allow for varying opinions, so we host viewpoints from the ultra-conservative to the moderate, and even libertarian. This is, in my mind, not a bad thing. However, if you assume that everyone is as conservative as you are just because an (R) is affixed to their title, you may be really surprised at the way they vote when elected to office.

Republicans are not cookie-cutter, mindless followers. We consider things first from a mostly conservative perspective (again, your viewpoint may vary), then move forward. We understand that open borders are not a good thing, and I think most of us are okay with a whole bunch of illegals being removed from our nation. We like law and order, and we support the Blue almost always. We also think defunding the police is stupid, and we support ICE.

In South Dakota, we understand that AG is King, and we love open spaces. We don’t drive down the Interstate and think, “Gosh, look at all this unused land.” We see families, farms, and people working hard to make a living. We know food doesn’t come from the grocery store; it’s where we buy it. We support freedom. We love our guns. We despise government overreach, and we love children and LIFE. We’ll protect our families at all costs. We fly our flags, we stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, and we know our neighbors by name. This is South Dakota.

But this looks different under the same tent. In 2026, a Republican Senator, Brandon Wipf, told us that if we “didn’t support paying for children's school lunches, we were evil.” He used all sorts of random statistics with no evidence and pushed through a Democrat-sponsored bill with glee. The fact is, the bill HB1082 came from a liberal Democrat, Kayden Wittman, from Sioux Falls. The money that will now come from our taxes will go mostly to Sioux Falls and Rapid City, two cities that already have donors paying the bill. They don’t actually need help. The middle of SD does. The outer edges of SD do. But the two largest cities in the state… no. But now you and I will pay for Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Now maybe that’s ok with you. But for me, it was another huge tax increase for District 26. Perhaps you are saying, "Oh, it’s good, and we don’t know if Sioux Falls needed help.” Well, I can tell you that since that bill passed, the Sioux Falls School District has repeatedly announced the large sums of money it plans to spend on various things that truly aren’t needed, especially when teachers need more pay.

Again, what’s your Republican perspective? I’ll tell you, mine is pretty conservative. My opponent, a career politician, Rebecca Reimer, is probably one of the most liberal Representatives in the House. See the Legislative Record. When you live in a state where AG is King, you shouldn’t receive an F rating from landowner rights organizations. As a Republican, you also shouldn’t have a 75% for LIFE, 29% for Liberty, or a 64% for Faith, Family, and Freedom. At the end of the 101st Legislative Session, she couldn’t even be bothered to show up for the largest SD government budget increase in state history.

Is the Republican tent that big?
I guess you need to decide, maybe you’re ok with it. As a Republican, you have a job to do; it is your responsibility to know who is who. Because we are not all the same. Your vote in the upcoming primary is crucial.