Lavallee speaks at Demo Forum

HURON – Michelle Lavallee has devoted her professional career to stepping in and working with corporate boards and leadership teams on rebranding strategies. The Republican-turned-
Democrat and running mate to gubernatorial candidate Billie Sutton thinks that after 44 years of GOP control it’s time to shake up Pierre.
“It is another one of those big, large bureaucratic organizations that hasn’t had the kind of change infusion that they need,” Lavallee, a Huron native, said Friday.
Sutton, a state senator, selected her to be his lieutenant governor because of her business expertise. She says she doesn’t think of herself as a politician, but a business person. She thinks she and Sutton complement each other, she said at the District 22 Democratic campaign luncheon.
Since returning to South Dakota to work for NorthWestern Energy, Lavallee has since been recruited by the University of South Dakota, Avera McKennan and Raven Industries. For the past couple years, she has run her own company, Lavallee Group.
“I go into companies that hire me to help them figure out what they want to be, what’s their vision for the future,” she said.
Since June, when she accepted Sutton’s offer to join the ticket, she has traveled the state meeting voters and sharing their own vision.
At this point, late in the campaign, both sides are claiming they have the momentum heading toward Election Day on Nov. 6.
Lavallee said the national media has turned its attention to the race, especially since the Cook Political Report upgraded their chances to a toss-up. The latest poll shows the two camps dead even, with 9 percent still undecided.

“Momentum is where we’re at and momentum is where we’re at with the polls,” she said.
Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., says she believes she and running mate state Rep. Larry Rhoden have the momentum. The key now, both campaigns emphasize, is to make sure to get people out to vote.
Lavallee said she believes the picture looks brighter for the Democratic ticket in the Black Hills this year.
“But you know that’s always been a challenge for Democrats,” she said. “I think we have a much better shot in West River than we’ve ever had in history.”
On Thursday, a Republicans for Democrats news conference in Sioux Falls featured endorsements from a number of long-time, prominent GOP activists. One of the reasons for it, Lavallee said, was to assure Republicans it’s OK to vote for Sutton, who she calls a moderate Democrat, who is fiscally conservative, but socially progressive on social issues such as taxes, health care and education.
Former Republican Sen. Larry Pressler was among the speakers at the news conference. In 2014, he waged a comeback bid for the Senate as an independent.
“He kind of came over to the other side to support Sutton because he believes that this is the time that we can really make some change, and positive change for South Dakota, and that’s how he started his remarks,” Lavallee said.
In debates and in Noem’s advertising, she has claimed Sutton supports a state income tax. But that’s not true, Lavallee said. Sutton has also vigorously denied it.
Noem has also tied him to the 2016 presidential candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“He doesn’t look like Bernie Sanders, doesn’t act like Bernie Sanders. “I said, ‘is this Groundhog Day?’ Enough already, right? Enough already.”
Lavallee said they are proud of their fund raising, in that 90 percent of the money came from people in increments of $100 or less.
“And that came from every small town in South Dakota,” she said. “And you know what that means? That means votes. Those are people that are going to vote for us.”