ECONOMY:

• Workforce Investment: It’s time to upgrade our economy. By investing in higher education, technical schools, and job training programs, we will focus on the development of the South Dakota workforce. By investing in these areas and partnering with local industries, we will prepare more South Dakotans to enter the skilled workforce.

• A More Welcoming SD: A welcome South Dakota is a welcome home. Too often we hear of young people and families leaving South Dakota because they don’t feel welcome. I want to create a South Dakota where more people want to stay and raise families. We do this by abandoning legislation that seeks to divide us and instead investing in innovative businesses, infrastructure for rural communities, and establishing South Dakota as a destination for high-paying jobs.

• Main Street Initiative: If Main Street is failing, then Pierre is failing. Main streets are the cultural and economic lifeblood of towns and cities across the state. I support cutting taxes for working-class South Dakotans and families. We will develop a program to reinvest into main streets across South Dakota so we can revitalize downtowns and drive economic growth.

Agriculture:

• Rural Growth: Agriculture is South Dakota’s first industry. Agriculture is a staple of South Dakota, and we depend on farming communities each and every day. Because of that, we will create low-interest loans and student loan assistance programs for South Dakotans going into agriculture.

• Separating Department of Ag from Department of Natural Resources: Farmers deserve their own Department of Agriculture. Since the Department of Agriculture has been combined with the Department of Natural Resources, too many unnecessary complications have occurred, creating problems for farmers. It’s time to use common sense and separate the two agencies.

• Property Tax Relief and Value-Added Ag: Property taxes have never been higher. The agriculture community suffers when they face crippling property taxes based on highest use instead of actual use. Creating property tax relief for farmers will allow more farmers to use financial resources to innovate with value-added agriculture—such as food processing, biotechnologies, and energy—which creates a better economy for all of us.

Healthcare:

• Expanding Medicaid: Expanding Medicaid makes sense for South Dakota. By expanding Medicaid, over 40,000 South Dakotans will gain access to quality, often life-saving, care. Medicaid expansion will also create jobs and help grow South Dakota’s economy. A healthy workforce is an essential part of creating real economic strength.

• Rural Healthcare: People shouldn't have to decide between filling their prescriptions and filling their grocery carts. I will support the expansion of programs like 340B to bring prescription drug prices down and make sure patients have access to telemedicine if they are unable to visit the doctor in person.

• Nursing Homes and Longterm Care: Nursing homes need help. Many of our long-term care facilities in the state are underfunded and understaffed. Medicaid Expansion can help with the funding, but we’ll have to rely on our universities to steer students towards careers in helping seniors. As governor, I will work to make this vision a reality so everyone can live out their lives with dignity and peace.

• Abortion: Women should not be forced to give birth. The people of South Dakota have voted twice on this issue (2006 and 2008), and both times voted that access to abortion should remain. As governor, I will work with legislators to allow access to abortion services. I will also take action to protect the health and safety of mothers as well as their children through every stage of life. This means funding foster care programs, creating opportunities for affordable childcare, and making sure a mother and child have access to quality healthcare for a safer birth experience.

Education/Schools:

• Teacher Pay: My plan is simple: More teachers. Better pay. South Dakota teachers receive some of the lowest pay in the country. As a result, we lose hundreds of qualified educators every year while schools stretch the limited resources they have to meet students’ needs. It’s time to invest in the future of South Dakota by making sure every child gets the educational opportunities they deserve and that schools and classrooms have adequate resources to provide those opportunities.

• Local Control: There’s nothing radical about learning American history. Students should have the opportunity to learn about the nation’s history from multiple points of view. School boards around the state have been robbed of the chance to represent the families that elected them. As governor, I will return local control to our state’s school boards. Let’s keep politics out of the classroom.

Integrity:

• Corruption/Accountability: As Governor, I will put the state’s checkbook online. We will require disclosures in campaign finance, as well as expand reporting requirements for politicians. You will always know where and how your tax dollars are being spent.

• Code of Ethics: Our public servants should be held to a higher standard. Every member of my administration, including myself, will sign a pledge to uphold a code of ethical standards. We will hold ourselves accountable and ensure that we will not betray the sacred trust of South Dakota’s voters.

• Cannabis: In South Dakota, the people rule. As Governor, I will always seek to carry out the will of the people. We must acknowledge and carry out that decision, which means legalizing recreational cannabis rather than wasting taxpayer dollars on lawsuits. Legalization will also create thousands of potential new jobs and increase our annual GDP by more than $14 million.

Crime:

• Crime Rates: Let’s really tackle crime. Over the past four years, South Dakota saw a rise in both violent and property crime rates. We’re going to focus on prevention and make sure that felons have opportunities for a life beyond prison. Together, we can keep South Dakota safe for ourselves and our neighbors.

• Treat Drug Addiction: Patients should not be prisoners. Too often, we hear of loved ones battling drug addiction. Too often, these same individuals find their way into South Dakota prisons without hurting anyone but themselves. I want to expand South Dakota’s recovery systems and cut red tape for rehab organizations to access much-needed funding.

• Tackling Meth: Stopping meth in South Dakota takes more than a slogan. If we want to help curb the issue of meth in our state, we have to take serious action. I will utilize federal resources to crack down on production while supporting recovery access for addicts. Patients shouldn't be prisoners, but there will be consequences for criminals spreading poison in our state.

Social Issues:

• Gun Ownership: I am a proud, responsible gun owner. South Dakota has a rich history of firearm use in hunting and gun sports, and I want to build on this tradition to ensure a safe future for all South Dakotans. I believe in a common sense approach to gun ownership, which includes making sure that dangerous criminals and people with mental illness are not able to use guns to commit violent crimes while also protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens in South Dakota.

Native Affairs:

• Reconciliation With Tribes: It’s time to stop treating the first people of South Dakota last. It is long overdue for the state government to continue the mission put in place by Governor Mickelson and reconcile with the tribal nations. The foundation for reconciliation is trust. We do this by actively listening to the concerns of tribal members and creating economic opportunities where desired by the tribes. We can work together to resolve jurisdictional disputes, provide much-needed services, and facilitate economic cooperation between South Dakota and Native people around the state.

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