Johnson challenges Johnson. Sioux Falls Democrat Sheryl says she'll run against Congressman Dusty
Congressman Dusty Johnson will have a Democratic opponent this year, according to the South Dakota Democratic Party.
Sheryl Johnson — running under the slogan “SD Mom for Congress” — will seek her party’s nomination, she announced at a press conference in Sioux Falls on Wednesday. Reports that Johnson intended to challenge Rep. Johnson had been circulating for several days.
Sheryl Johnson has lost three races for a seat in the Legislature, coming close to victory each time. She ran for a state House of Representatives District 11 seat in 2018 and 2020, and for a state Senate berth from District 11 in 2022. She is the Democratic chair of the district.
In an SDDP release, Johnson (seen above in a photo provided by Tom Lawrence) said she was a Republican for decades, but “got tired of a party that used to be about freedom and now wants to control everything including who people can marry, how and when they can have kids, which books schools can use and give tax breaks to the wealthy instead of helping our kids. About 10 years ago, she became a Democrat after realizing the party aligned much closer to her values of caring about people.”
Johnson said is running because she is frustrated by the “do-nothing Congress,” evoking a term President Harry S. Truman campaigned on in 1948 as he upset Republican candidate Thomas Dewey.
She believes that federal lawmakers only complain about what is happening at the U.S.-Mexico border instead of fixing the immigration system.
Johnson said she also wants to stop the attacks on women’s health. As a mother of four daughters of child-bearing age, Johnson believes it is wrong that they have fewer rights than she did. Johnson says that reproductive health is a discussion that should stay between mothers and their doctors and that the government has no business interfering.
She said Dusty Johnson no longer listens to his constituents in South Dakota and only does what the Republican Party tells him to do.
“I think integrity, honesty and the ability to listen and learn is vital for an elected official. It is eye-opening to hear why someone has a different opinion,” she said. “You need to be open to changing your position and compromise if needed. I know we won’t agree on everything, but I will listen and respect everyone’s view. I will represent all of the people of South Dakota, not just those who think like me. We need a working mom in Congress to get things done.”
Johnson’s grandparents ran a dairy farm and her dad was an ag loan officer at the local bank and a part-time farmer. She spent 12 years as an education assistant at Roosevelt High School, and worked in retail management for several years. Johnson has lived in Sioux Falls for 28 years and is now retired and an active volunteer and political activist.
Johnson spent four years as a military wife while her husband was deployed during Desert Storm. For three years, she lived at Camp Lejeune. She also worked in retail management for several years.
She is taking on an entrenched figure who has devoted most of his adult life to the business of politics. After two elections without a major opponent, he also is sitting on a large stockpile of money — he had $2.3 million on hand at the end of 2022 — with the ability to raise more.
Dustin Michael “Dusty” Johnson, 47, served on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission from 2004-10. Johnson was elected in 2004 at the age of 28 and claimed a second six-year term in 2010 but resigned shortly after the election to serve as chief of staff to Gov. Dennis Daugaard. He held that post for four years before taking a job with Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell as he planned for his next step politically.
Johnson ran for Congress in 2018 when Rep. Kristi Noem decided to leave Washington, D.C., after four terms to run for governor. Johnson defeated Secretary of State Shantel Krebs and state Sen. Neal Tapio in the Republican primary — he also turned back GOP challengers in 2020 and 2022.
Johnson won his first term in Congress in 2018 when he eased past former circuit court judge Tim Bjorkman and two minor party candidates in the general election. That was the last time a Democrat challenged Johnson.
In 2020, Brian Wirth of Dell Rapids and Whitney Raver of Custer announced their intentions to run against him, but neither Democrat could collect enough signatures during the opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic to qualify for the ballot. Johnson had a cakewalk to a second term.
He has been able to turn back challenges from far-right Trump loyalists who don’t find him loyal to the former president. Like Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds, and unlike Noem, Dusty is not a big fan of Donald Trump.
In 2022, Ryan Ryder, a lawyer from Black Hawk, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Congress. But a day after he entered the race, embarrassing social media posts surfaced and Ryder almost immediately dropped out of the race, once again giving Johnson a virtual free pass.
While Dusty Johnson will be the overwhelming favorite to win a fourth term, he may already have his eyes on another office, much like what happened when he was re-elected to the PUC in 2010. Noem is barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor, meaning the job will be open in 2026.
Johnson is seen as a potential candidate for governor then, along with Attorney General Marty Jackley, who ran for the post in 2018, losing to Noem in the GOP primary.
Will Sheryl Johnson make that issue in this campaign? She declined an interview and turned down an opportunity to answer even a few questions, saying she was “swamped” with getting started. I have chatted with her several times before, and hope to talk with her down the road.
Sheryl Johnson faces a massive challenge. No South Dakota Democrat has won a statewide race since 2008, and she is taking on a popular three-term incumbent with high name recognition and a talent for retail campaigning.
The big question is, what is his goal — to be a long-term member of the House and move into a leadership role, to move to the Senate if and when Thune or Rounds steps aside, or to serve as governor?
But before he can look to 2026, Rep. Dusty Johnson has to make sure that he remains South Dakota’s Rep. Johnson. Sheryl aims to change the first name that goes with that title.
Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states and contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Reprint with permission.
