HURON – Just as the Watergate scandal boosted the prospects of Democratic candidates across the country in the early 1970s, so too could the unpopularity of the current Republican administration improve their chances in the 2018 election cycle, the last Democrat to serve as governor of South Dakota said Thursday.
But Harvey Wollman said it won’t be his generation – the one that built the modern-day Democratic Party under the leadership of George McGovern – that will help turn the tide.
Instead it will take young people, the ones who once knocked on doors for the likes of Tom Daschle and McGovern, to lead the way.
Senate Minority Leader Billie Sutton of Burke is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor next year.
“It will be a very difficult climb,” Wollman said when asked his thoughts on Sutton’s chances against the Republican nominee, either Attorney General Marty Jackley or Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.
But Wollman pointed to his own political history, when he said he became the majority leader in the state Legislature during Watergate, when many Republicans failed to support GOP candidates and Democrats boosted their numbers in Pierre.
“That could happen again,” Wollman said at the District 22 Democratic Forum.
Not only are a majority of Americans disillusioned with President Trump, South Dakota Republicans could be vulnerable because of the EB-5 and Gear-Up scandals in the state, he said.
Those aren’t the leaders he would want running the health care system should the GOP congressional effort to shift it back to the states succeed, he said.

“The point is, there are things that could happen that could irritate the public enough to help look for a new alternative, and in our case Billie Sutton would be that voice to point the way to a new awareness and opportunity for South Dakota,” Wollman said.
But he reminded the party faithful in the room – who were among those who knocked on the doors, made the phone calls and raised the dollars years ago for Daschle and McGovern – that Sutton will need money and party organizational support all across the state.
“I think that his chances are very uphill, but certainly not impossible,” he said.
Democrats became discouraged with McGovern’s Senate re-election loss to Jim Abdnor in 1980 and by Daschle’s Senate re-election loss to John Thune in a tight 2004 race.
“Those are things that demoralized our party very, very much,” Wollman said.
Not only must Democrats be willing to step forward with their wallets and their time, they must also identify key issues to run on, he said.
“We don’t really have a rallying cry or some specific things that we’re united about,” he said. “It’s complicated, but it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.”
In December, Wollman appeared before District 22 Democrats to offer his thoughts on the presidential election.
At the time, he said President-elect Trump deserved a chance to succeed.
“What an interesting nine months we’ve experienced,” Wollman said Thursday.
“I hoped then, as I do now, that the importance of the presidency would somehow overshadow the importance of the president,” he said.
For any president to be successful, he or she has to surround himself or herself with those whose motivations are good for the country, above all else, he said.
“There are signs that some of those types of people are beginning to have some influence, so there is some reason to look forward and hope,” he said.
“Will our president ever become that warm and fuzzy, loving person we would like to see?” he asked. “Probably not.”
Still, Wollman said Americans must respect the office that men have held for more than 240 years.
As 2018 dawns in a few months, he is hoping that more signs of cooperation start to appear.
“The fascination of being president will be replaced with more maturity and serious attention to the big issues of our time,” Wollman said.
“Not only should we be prepared for days of uncertainty – we’ve had them before and we’ll have them again – I don’t want to be numbered among those who resort to name-calling and despair,” he said. “We are better than that.”