The unofficial loser in a southern Black Hills legislative district says he's seeking a recount.
It’s the first election since lawmakers changed legislative boundaries following the census.
Republican Senate candidate Tim Goodwin says he’s going to call for a recount in the District 30 election.
There’s a 46-vote difference between him and incumbent Republican Julie Frye-Mueller.
Their legislative district changed during the last round of redistricting. It went from a rural Pennington, Custer and Fall River county district to having portions of Rapid City.
Goodwin, who currently serves in the state House of Representatives, says he was worried about how redistricting would affect his campaign.
“People always say to me, ‘Are you still mad about redistricting?’ and I said I’ll be mad about redistricting until my grave,” Goodwin says.
The incumbent agrees Goodwin has the option to request the recount.
Frye-Mueller is also unhappy with how the district was drawn. She says the town of Wall should have stayed with a district that has Mount Rushmore and other tourist attractions.
“They should have stayed with a tourism district because they’re a tourism town,” Frye-Mueller says. “So, the needs and the wants for tourism — when you’re working for that industry — it’s nice to keep them all together.”
Certified copies of the official election results must be filed by June 13. Goodwin has three days to file for a recount after that.
