I Grew Up Around South Dakota Governors. Here’s Why Toby Doeden is the Outsider We Need
Six months ago, Toby Doeden would have been at the bottom of my list for governor. But as I watched the debates and listened to his story, he began to catch my attention. The more I learned about him, the more I saw something different.
When I learned how he grew up poor in Groton and how his mother provided for the family after his father’s illness, I began to see a self-made man and a true outsider to the Pierre establishment.
Take it from someone who grew up in Pierre: the swamp in our capital city runs every bit as deep as the swamp in Washington, D.C.
Two of my best lifelong friends are Paul Kneip and Russ Janklow. Their fathers, Dick Kneip and Bill Janklow, served more terms as governor than anyone else in South Dakota history. Dick Kneip was elected to three consecutive terms, and Bill Janklow was elected to four terms as governor. What both men had in common was that they came to Pierre as outsiders.
Pierre needs another outsider. It needs someone willing to clean out the Capitol Lake swamp.
If you connect the dots, it’s not difficult to tie together Mike Rounds, Dennis Daugaard, Larry Rhoden, and Dusty Johnson. I could show the connections in two minutes. Jon Hansen is a little harder to connect, but his primary life experience has been in South Dakota politics. He has never really practiced law to any significant degree, nor does he have much real-world experience outside of politics. After all, he’s 40 years old and first went to Pierre in 2010 when he was 24 and fresh out of law school.
My wife and I went to see Toby speak in Sioux Falls last night. Watching him speak extemporaneously, without notes, was refreshing. I am a little concernd about his weight—he was sweating like a butcher last nigth—but what stood out even more was his energy, stamina, and determination. You can see that he has the drive to go to Pierre and shake things up.
Today, I am throwing my support behind Toby Doeden.
Because Pierre is in need of an intervention.
#tobydoeden #southdakotapolitics
