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

Democrat Secretary of State candidate Ben Nesselhuf, of Vermillion, fended off verbal jabs from candidate Jason Gant, R-Sioux Falls, at Saturday’s Corn Palace debates in Mitchell.

The pair filled in for the gubernatorial debate, which was deleted from the program when Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard dropped out due to the death of a close friend.

The secretary of state candidates are colleagues in the state Senate and are seeking the office of current Secretary Chris Nelson, who will be term-limited out of office at the end of this year.

Gant attacked Nesselhuf’s endorsement from the Secretary of State Project. The organization’s website says it “supports reform-minded Secretary of State candidates and incumbents in key battleground states.”

Gant claimed the group does not favor the use of photo identification, which would confirm a voter’s identity.

Nesselhuf said that whatever the group’s specific positions, its overall aim appears reasonable. “This is quite a conspiracy that I’m the evil genius of,” he said with intended sarcasm.

Nesselhuf said he envisions a more active role for the secretary of state’s office in distributing business information on corporate filings. He pitched it as an “economic development” idea.

Gant said the secretary of state’s office isn’t meant to delve into economic development, and that as the state’s chief election officer, he would continue to protect the integrity of the election process.

By: Ross Dolan, The Daily Republic

Two candidates running for South Dakota secretary of state have committed to debate at a Daily Republic-sponsored event this weekend in Mitchell.

Jason Gant, a Republican, and Democrat Ben Nesselhuf were contacted Thursday and accepted invitations to attend The Daily Republic-Corn Palace Festival Debate, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Corn Palace. The newspaper reached out to the candidates after canceling the gubernatorial debate planned for Saturday.

Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard contacted The Daily Republic late Wednesday afternoon and informed the newspaper that he cannot attend Saturday, due to the funeral of his longtime friend, Steven Hainje. Daugaard, a Republican, was set to debate Democrat Scott Heidepriem.

The U.S. House debate between Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and her Republican challenger, Kristi Noem, will be held as planned, beginning at noon Saturday.

Gant is a resident of Sioux Falls and Nesselhuf is from Vermillion. Also in the race is Constitution Party candidate Lori Stacey, of Sioux Falls. The Daily Republic did not extend an invitation to Stacey.

The debates are free to the public. Those unable to attend can watch the debates live on The Daily Republic’s website, www.mitchellrepublic.com.

Ben Nesselhuf said he’s more than just a man driving the bright red “Benmobile.”

Nesselhuf, 34, is the Democratic candidate for South Dakota secretary of state. He made campaign appearances in Mitchell Wednesday, including a stop at The Daily Republic.

Nesselhuf said he is running on three issues: campaign finance reform, economic development and voter integrity.

Since the secretary of state is involved in those issues, he said the race just made sense. “It was a very natural fit for me,” Nesselhuf said.

He said since the Secretary of State’s Office collects corporate filings daily, he feels it should work with businesses, cities and local chambers of commerce to encourage communication and promote development.

As the business atmosphere evolves, people need to find new ways to work together, he said. Nesselhuf said he thinks many cities and chambers don’t even know how many businesses there are in their towns.

“We have businesses starting in kitchens, garages and online,” he said.

Since the secretary of state is the “first point of contact” for businesses, it could use that information in a positive way for cities, counties and the state as well as for businesses.

Nesselhuf said he also favors a more open system on campaign finance. Right now, South Dakota keeps far too much information private on who’s paying for campaigns, he said.

The state is the “wild west of campaign finance,” Nesselhuf said.

The state and other entities should use paper ballots to provide a clear record of elections, he said. And Nesselhuf said he also favors checking signatures on petitions to ensure valid voters have signed them.

He favors term limits for constitutional officers. That’s why Secretary of State Chris Nelson, a Republican, isn’t running for a third term.

Nesselhuf said while he didn’t want to attack Nelson, he felt the two-term secretary of state has had a poor track record with election opinions. “I can’t think of a case he has won,” he said.

Nesselhuf, a Rapid City native who lived in Chamberlain before making his home in Vermillion, is opposed by state Sen. Jason Gant, of Sioux Falls, the Republican candidate, and Lori Stacey, of Sioux Falls, the sole statewide candidate for the Constitution Party.

He said he is friends with Gant and they sit beside each other during state Senate Commerce Committee meetings. “I don’t have anything bad to say about the guy,” Nesselhuf said.

But he said Gant would continue doing business as Republicans have for years in Pierre. He and other Democrats are gambling that South Dakota voters are ready for a change.

Nesselhuf said while Gant received the Eagle Award from the South Dakota Newspaper Association — an award given for efforts on behalf of government openness — he feels he would be a stronger advocate for open government and access to public information.

“I think Jason took a very good stance in what he did — for a Republican,” he said.

Nesselhuf said he believes almost everything in state records should be open to the public.

Nesselhuf is in his third term as a state senator representing District 17. He previously served two terms in the state House from the same district.

No Democrat has been elected secretary of state since 1974, when Lorna Herseth won the last of her two terms. That doesn’t intimidate Nesselhuf, he said.

He won his first election to the Legislature just after he turned 25, defeating a well-known Republican opponent.

“We weren’t supposed to win that one, either,” Nesselhuf said.

Democrats have faced uphill runs in South Dakota in the past 30 years, but Nesselhuf said he feels they have run strong races and presented credible candidates. The “breaks” went against them, he said.

There’s a supposition that Democrats struggle to win or even compete, Nesselhuf said, adding “I don’t buy it for a minute.”

Nesselhuf said he plans to mount a strong challenge by raising money, having a strong campaign team and going door-to-door to meet voters, explaining what the secretary of state does and proving that even though he’s a Democrat, he doesn’t have “horns or a tail.”

“We go to the doorsteps,” he said.

Oh, and about that car. Nesselhuf said he’s amazed the attention his 2008 Chevrolet HHR has received since he started running.

Some have speculated he’s driving a red car because red is associated with Republicans and this has long been a GOP state. Nesselhuf said that just makes him laugh, since he just added the campaign logo on the side of the vehicle.

“That’s the color of the car,” he said.

Sen. Ben Nesselhuf of Vermillion has always believed in giving back to the community. After 10 years as a South Dakota legislator, he is ready to take it to the next level.

Last October, the Democrat filed his petition to run for secretary of state.

When Nesselhuf was elected a decade ago as a representative for Clay and Turner counties, he was the youngest individual ever sworn in at the capitol.

Visiting the Press & Dakotan offices this week, the District 17 senator said he wants to continue serving the public. Its something that was instilled in him from a young age, as his parents, Ed and Diane, both founded nonprofit organizations in which he has been involved.

“This is a continuation of growing up in that mindset of giving back to the community,” he said. “This is how I’m able to give back and serve. I believe in the servant part of public servant, and I think I’ve proven that in my 10 years in the Legislature.”

In November, Nesselhuf will face off with Republican Jason M. Gant of Sioux Falls and Constitution Party candidate Lori Stacey of Sioux Falls for the position.

Nesselhuf said he believes the secretary of state’s office is important in ways that many people don’t really consider. One area he believes the department has a role to play is economic development.

“The first point of contact for any new business coming to South Dakota is the secretary of state’s office, because it is in charge of corporate filings,” Nesselhuf said.

The department now collects that information but it doesn’t make it available in ways that could truly help economic development entities, he stated. A database can be searched using the name of a company, but you cannot search by location. That’s something Nesselhuf would like to change.

“We don’t start businesses the way we used to,” he said. “Very seldom does a business come onto Main Street and open up a storefront. Now, we have businesses starting in kitchens, garages and online. I had a gentleman tell me, ‘We have businesses that start, operate for a couple of years and fail before I ever know they existed.’”

Nesselhuf said he would be willing to send out a report at regular intervals to economic development entities to inform them what new businesses have located there.

“The response to that has been overwhelming,” he stated. “(Economic developers) can’t figure out why that hasn’t happened yet.”

Making it so businesses can do their corporate filings entirely over the Internet will be another priority.

If Nesselhuf has one criticism of the way the office was run during the past eight years under Chris Nelson, it’s that it didn’t always err on the side of the public.

“Basically, when you see a gray area, you err on the side of enfranchising people rather than disenfranchising them,” Nesselhuf said. “I think Chris has largely been on the other side of that. He has said the rules are the rules.”

One recent case Nesselhuf pointed to was when Nelson disallowed petition signatures to refer the smoking ban to a vote because notaries public listed incorrect information on their notary seal expiration dates on petitions.

Nesselhuf said he would also like to make campaign finance information more readily available to the public and would continue the office’s good track record on customer service.

“It’s an incredibly important office,” he said. “I’ve served in the Legislature for 10 years now. In that time, I’ve discovered that a lot of the issues I’m passionate about: campaign finance reform, elections protection and economic development … are either caused by or can be resolved by the secretary of state.”

Two Democratic candidates for statewide office share one goal – greater openness and transparency in state government.

State Sens. Julie Bartling of Burke and Ben Nesselhuf of Vermillion are frustrated that too much vital information about government operations has been veiled in secrecy for too many years. Read More »

Three Statewide candidates emerge and Democrats excited for November

The South Dakota Democratic Party held their annual McGovern Day dinner in Rapid City over the weekend. The event drew over 300 Democrats from across the state.

In a change from previous years, the party recommended for nomination the constitutional candidates at the Pre Convention Caucus. While candidates for constitutional offices will not be officially nominated until the state party convention at the end of June, this approach allows them to begin organizing and fundraising earlier.

The Pre-Convention Delegates, who were elected through their County Democratic Parties, cast their votes for three statewide candidates. The votes resulted in the following endorsements:

State Auditor – Julie Bartling

Secretary of State: Ben Nesselhuf

PUC – Doyle Karpen

Current candidates benefited from trainings and speeches during the day and everyone came together for the big celebration dinner at night. Sen. Tim Johnson, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, and Gubernatorial Candidate Scott Heidepriem gave speeches that excited the crowd encouraged our party members from all across the state!

The winners of this year’s McGovern Day awards are:

Kneip Young Leader’s Award – Paula Schmidt, Custer

McGovern Grassroots Award – Bill Thompson, Sioux Falls

Goldie Wells Memorial Award – KO & Tootie Kauth, Huron

This week Paul Guggenheimer of South Dakota Public Radio visited with Ben about the budget and education funding for next year.

Listen to the full broadcast of Ben’s interview.

BY SEN. BEN NESSELHUF

The Senate was busy this week taking final action on all remaining Senate bills as Tuesday was cross-over day, the day all bills must pass the house of origin. With only two weeks left in the 2010 legislative session, the budget has become the major priority of the Legislature and the debate over the budget is beginning to intensify. Read More »

Watch the interview Ben did this morning with John Pedersen from the School Administrators of South Dakota. They discussed the status of many bills that relate to education. [VIDEO]

BY SEN. BEN NESSELHUF

The Legislature just finished its sixth week of the 2010 legislative session. The Legislature has begun to consider more bills that have the potential to greatly impact the lives of the people of South Dakota.

As always, education has become a top priority of mine this Legislative session. Read More »