Candidates vying for South Dakota’s lone seat in the US House of Representatives say they’ll keep their state roots
Those comments came during the SDPB TV House forum Thursday night.
During a sometimes tense forum between all four candidates for US House, Republican candidate Dusty Johnson and Democratic candidate Tim Bjorkman hardly agreed on anything.
After trading jabs early on, both candidates agreed they would do what’s right for the state, and not just political allegiance
Johnson says it’s important for whoever wins to remember when they take an oath, that it’s not to a party, but to the constitution.
“People will tell me all the time that it’s such a pain that you’ve got to run every two years,” Johnson says. “I love the idea, because it’s a constant reminder of who the boss is. You have to go to Scotland—you get to go to Scotland, and Faulkton, and Britton, Mobridge and stand there and talk to people and have them share their values. If you do the job right, and you go to those communities, if you read your mail, you pick up the phone and call back people who called the office, it would be very difficult for anybody who does those things to ever forget that their bosses are not the political parties.”
Johnson’s Democrat opponent, Tim Bjorkman says his campaign is based on the idea of being a citizen legislator.
“Who goes to serve for a season, then comes home to live among the governed, and puts country over career politics again. That’s what I’ve heard from people across South Dakota, too,” Bjorkman says. “Dusty’s thoughts are fine, but if you take the special interest money, and you give your loyalty to the party bosses, you’re going to be under their control. We don’t need lackies, or subservient congressmen to any party or any special interest. We need authentic voices for South Dakota.”
Both Bjorkman and Johnson sparred over campaign finance records during the forum.
October quarterly filing reports with the Federal Election Commission show Republican candidate Dusty Johnson out raising Democratic candidate Tim Bjorkman by two to one.
Bjorkman has made it a campaign pledge to not accept any contribution from big money interest groups or political action committees. He says that means he won’t be beholden to anyone when he gets to Washington D.C.
However, his opponent, Republican Dusty Johnson says Bjorkman has made bad on his campaign pledge by filing a disclosure from a lobbyist. That led to back and forth about a person Bjorkman says is a former Senate Chief of Staff who helped coach Bjorkman’s campaign.
Johnson says information on that person is something South Dakotans’ would like to have.
The next round of campaign finance disclosures for Congressional races are due by October 25th.