Elections and the SDSMA
It has been a historic year in South Dakota when it comes to our election cycle, and we have not even reached November yet. For the first time in our state’s modern history, we had a gubernatorial primary runoff. If you are like me and a resident of Sioux Falls, you also had the opportunity to vote for a mayoral runoff. Three elections in two months certainly did not feel normal. In addition, many legislative seats across our state were closely contested leading to 16 incumbents losing their races. This is following 14 seats lost in 2024. The legislative body we work with in Pierre will certainly look very different this next session as will one of our Federal offices in Washington D.C.
One exciting development we had this year was one of our own members, Dr. Dawn Hill, running for our state legislature. While she did not win her primary, I want to commend her on a well run campaign. She is a talented person and physician and I hope we see her run again. As a physician, I understand how we are all limited on time away from our patients to serve in Pierre. However, it has been a number of years now since we had a physician in the legislature. Meanwhile, other healthcare professions have been able to get candidates involved and win seats in Pierre. While we do try to partner and support these non-physician legislators, it still would be far more beneficial for us to have physicians in legislative seats. The AMA and our SDSMA have excellent resources and training for anyone interested in running. Please contact us if you are even considering doing so.
The SDSMA PAC continues to be involved behind the scenes during election seasons as well. In fact, our board doubled their budget this cycle and gave over $60,000 to candidates. 36 of the 49 candidates the PAC supported were successful in June. I know there are always many questions about how our PAC functions. We have an excellent board of physicians that work with our full-time staff to evaluate this. Typically they select incumbents who vote with our agenda over 70% of the time. In addition, they depend on firsthand references and information from you all. They also have board vacancies and are always looking for more people to not only give their donations but also serve with them. Please contact our staff if interested.
With a shifting legislative body in Pierre, we are going to be more dependent than ever on all of you this legislative session. While our SDSMA board covers all sides of our state and testifies frequently and communicates with legislators often, we do not represent every single community or have connections to every single politician. Few things are more powerful than utilizing the stories, connections, and insights of all of you, our physician members. Not only do we seek to do this during the legislative session but as we monitor and act on political developments throughout our state all year long we want to partner and involve all of you. I will be visiting every district this fall with our CEO, Tammy Hatting, and would welcome you to connect with me at those dinners if you’d like to get more involved. I would also encourage you to reach out to our Director of Policy and Advocacy, Justin Ohleen, at any point if you have questions about any candidate or issue. We seek your involvement and welcome you to partner with us during these changing times and historic election cycles.
Ben Meyerink, MD
President, South Dakota State Medical Association
