Democratic party director optimistic for 2018 elections

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HURON – Democratic candidates for the state Legislature can improve their chances for success in November if they begin their campaigns early and get involved in their local communities throughout the year, the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party said.
Too often, candidates for House and Senate seats in Pierre have waited until August to actively campaign and too often that has been a losing strategy, Sam Parkinson said Thursday.
“In 2018, we have a great opportunity in this state that we haven’t seen in a long time,” the University of South Dakota political science graduate said at the District 22 Democratic Forum.
With gubernatorial candidate Billie Sutton and U.S. House candidate Tim Bjorkman at the top of the ticket for Democrats, a state party focus is also to elect more Democrats to Pierre, Parkinson said.
“I think what happens in Pierre and what happens in your home town has more of a daily impact on you than what happens in Washington,” he said.
South Dakota has just one voice in the 435-member House of Representatives, but in the 40 days legislators are in session each winter a lot gets done that impacts the state for years, Parkinson said.
Executive director since June, he joined the state party staff in 2015 after graduating from USD. He has also served as the finance and events director.
Legislative candidates are being encouraged to get involved in their community and attend and participate in local events instead of just coming around when looking for support at election time, Parkinson said.

“We’re active year-round, every year,” he said. “In 2017, we didn’t have an election. That’s not an off year, it’s an odd year.
“We’re always involved, we’re always working toward something,” Parkinson said.
In his eight years as the state’s chief executive, Gov. Dennis Daugaard has appointed 18 people to the Legislature following a resignation, he said.
As governor, Sutton, now a state senator from Burke, plans to have special elections to fill openings, Parkinson said.
In the past year, special elections in other states have been won by Democrats as voters have pushed back against President Trump, he said.
“We could have been able to show that backlash through special elections,” he said.
The state party has also been working to register more Democrats, he said.
According to the secretary of state’s website, Democrats trail Republicans in voter registration, 245,571 to 159,616. Another 120,850 are registered as independent or no party affiliation.
The numbers aren’t a source of worry for Parkinson.
“People still believe in the Democratic message; we just need to get them out to vote,” he said.
Independents tend to lean more toward Democrats in elections, he said.
In a major project last summer, seven organizers hired by the state party registered 1,100 new Democratic voters on the state’s nine reservations and in the large native communities in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Parkinson said he hopes to do that again this year, “to let them know their voice does matter in this state because it’s been silent for so long, and that if they support the Democratic Party their voice is going to be heard.”

ROGER LARSEN/PLAINSMAN
State Democratic executive director Sam Parkinson was the speaker at the District 22 Democratic forum on Thursday.