About the Dash, not the Cash

Written for the High Plains Journal

I am like every other American citizen: extremely happy that campaign season has ridden off into the sunset. I am not like most others in that I have great concern for the outcome at the federal level, yet at the local level I see some great success stories. In short, I don’t see how anyone expects a different outcome from DC as we sent the same cast of characters back to the theater. Nonetheless, it was certainly the lesser of two evils. 

I have a few examples of statewide measures that I think sent a huge positive signal that people are finally getting fed up with the current system and doing things they never thought they would do in order to help shift the power back to “We the People.” 

First, let’s take a look at the data on spending: 

Data from the Federal Election Commission show that over 11,000 political groups were involved in the 2024 election spending. Each spent at least 100,000 dollars, meaning that almost all of the funds (99%) came from these larger entities. 

According to Politico, the American political scene has relied on massive financial inputs for years. In the 2024 election cycle, presidential and congressional candidates, political parties, and various political action committees (PACs) spent 14.7 billion dollars, accounting for about 92% of the total expenditures in the current cycle.

Obviously, most think about spending for the seat in the White House and that is certainly obese but the real spending issues happened at the state level and, in most cases, toward the onslaught of ballot measures that were put in front of voters in 2024. 

The first item is the most disheartening result I am aware of in which 7 of the 10 states with measures on abortion did, indeed, grant people the ability to kill their own child. AdImpact is reporting that a whopping 32% of Democrat broadcast dollars were spent on supporting abortion. 

Measures meant to protect abortion rights passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York, but failed in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. 

Two states had success stories that I think have real promise for our future. Colorado, believe it or not, had three things happen that I hope to build on for the future. Proposition 127 would have banned the killing of predators, mountain lions, lynx and bobcats and the measure failed by a 10% margin. Inside the city limits of Denver there were two measures of interest to me. Initiatives 308 and 309 were both defeated by 60% plus. These radical measures would have shut down all meat processing in the city limits and ban the sale, manufacturing or displaying of animal furs. I plan to build on the results of these three measures as I believe there is a core group of folks in Colorado that are fed up with the path the state has been on and are seeking help to change direction. 

In closing, the biggest success story of the 2024 election occurred in South Dakota. There were 7 measures on the ballot and both abortion and marijuana failed. Six of the 7 failed and we consider that a home run. 

I want to focus primarily on RL 21. Referred Law 21 came from the citizens of the state who were not happy with the passage of SB 201 during the 2024 legislative session. South Dakotans got to work and gathered 38,000 signatures to get RL21 on the ballot instead of allowing SB 201 to become law on July 1. The law would have removed all local control on the construction of CO2 pipelines. 

It appears that roughly $5 million was spent by special interest groups against RL21 while the group recognized as “SD is not for Sale” spent less than $200,000 but they wore out their boots. The grass roots effort of passionate South Dakotans put on informational meetings every night in some part of the state. They engaged in every media opportunity they could find and literally won this thing BIG with elbow grease and determination. 

The state motto of South Dakota is: Under God, The People Rule. Without question, my friends in this great state set the example of how you win an election and take back the rule. These hard-working, concerned citizens proved that it doesn’t always matter who spends the most cash, but rather who willing to run the longest dash.