Ben Nesselhuf for South Dakota—Democratic Candidate for Secretary of State

The numbers on the 2009 campaign finance report show Sen. Ben Nesselhuf of Vermillion wasn’t coasting into his 2010 run for the Democratic nomination for South Dakota secretary of state. He raised $40,469 and spent $21,846 for the year. That’s a lot of green. He raised more than any of the three Republicans seeking their party’s nomination. In fact, he raised more than all three of them did combined. Getting contributions of $4,000 apiece from Sharon and Tom Warner of Rapid City, and contributions of $4,000 and $3,500 respectively from Lewis and Renee Weinberg of Sioux City, certainly helped pump up his total. But even without their help he raised some serious cash. The last time a Democrat was secretary of state came in the 1970s when Lorna Herseth held the office.