U.S. House candidates load up ahead of June primary

Three Republicans running to fill South Dakota’s open U.S. House seat each reported raising six-digit figures for their campaigns in the last quarter, setting the stage for a sprint to the primary in June.

Shantel Krebs, Dusty Johnson and Neal Tapio each raised more than $100,000 in the period from Jan. 1 to March 31, although they took different paths to get there.

Democrat Tim Bjorkman, meanwhile, also raised more than $100,000, enabling him to squirrel away money for the general election in November when he will face the Republican winner in the June 5 primary.

In total, the four candidates have raised more than $1.6 million in their bid to replace Republican Rep. Kristi Noem, who is running for governor.

Bjorkman, a retired circuit court judge, supplemented $105,327 in personal contributions and $8,000 from political parties with $17,288 of his own money, giving him a total of $130,616 for the quarter. In a statement, Bjorkman said he has contributed his own money in lieu of accepting donations from political action committees.

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“Like a lot of people, I think special interests and the big money controlling our Congress are doing serious harm to our democracy,” he said. “When a politician asks special interests to give thousands of dollars to his campaign, they’re going to want something in return, as Donald Trump repeatedly reminded us.”

He ended the quarter with $172,052 in cash on hand.

Johnson, a former public utilities commissioner and chief of staff to Gov. Dennis Daugaard, raised $108,814 in individual contributions. His totals also included $10,500 in PAC and political party contributions, including $1,000 from Daugaard’s campaign, and nearly $10,000 in personal money to give him a total of $129,193.

“Running a successful statewide campaign takes time, resources and money,” Johnson said in a release. “Our team is humbled by the willingness of South Dakotans to enthusiastically step up and support our efforts.”

He ended the period with $489,475 in cash on hand.

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Krebs, the secretary of state, reported $100,679 in individual contributions. She also had $11,500 in PAC contributions for a total of $112,179.

“We are thrilled to have hit and surpassed our fundraising goal yet again,” campaign spokeswoman Kate Kuenzle said in an email. “It means we have all the resources we need to win and be ready to take on the Democrat nominee this fall. We are extremely grateful that South Dakotans across the state would give their hard-earned dollars to elect Shantel.”

She had just under $400,000 going into the primary.

Tapio, a state senator from Watertown, entered the race late and jump-started his campaign with personal loans worth $105,025 to his campaign. He reported an additional $7,555 in individual contributions.

In an email, Tapio said he is willing to spend as much of his own money as it takes to get his message out to primary voters.

“The goal of my campaign is not to spend time raising money from political insiders and crony capitalists who buy influence and access,” he said. “I am running for the U.S. House to represent all people concerned about the direction of their country.”