South Dakota Democratic Party removes interim from Shane Merrill’s title, make him leader of troubled state party

You can take the interim off Shane Merrill’s title.

Merrill, a rural Parker farmer, bus driver, substitute teacher, youth baseball coach, sportswriter and announcer on YouTube broadcasts of local sports, was elected the new chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party during a meeting at the Holiday Inn in Rapid City on Saturday.

He assumes the leadership role held by Jessica Slaight-Hansen, who was recalled in August and removed from office. Merrill, who was elected vice chair in February, stepped up to assume the top post in a temporary manner, and was elected chair in a landslide on Saturday.

Jessica Meyers of Sioux Falls was elected vice chair unanimously. Meyers ran for a state Senate seat in 2020 and 2022.

Merrill defeated John Cunningham of Sioux Falls 94.37% to 5.63% in a weighted vote based on votes for Democratic candidate Jamie Smith in the 2022 gubernatorial race. The actual vote was 77-2.

That is a larger margin than Slaight-Hansen got in February, when about 93% of Democrats supported her. I think they are trying to tell Cunningham, who has been a critic of the party’s leadership and campaigns, something.

After the votes, party members met. Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba of Sioux Falls and state Rep. Kam Nelson of Sioux Falls, the House minority whip, spoke on legislative priorities. 

Pennington County Democratic Party Chair Annie Bachand provided training on the importance of local organizing.

Merrill said his immediate goal is to “unite the party and move forward.” They seem like wise goals. Actually doing it may take some time, however. 

Merrill had better roll up his sleeves. The SDDP has been in terrible shape for 15 years and the internal battle this summer just added to its misery.

Remember, the last time it won a statewide race was in 2008, when Sen. Tim Johnson won his third and final term in the Senate and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin breezed to re-election.

Since then, it’s been nothing but bad news. Herseth-Sandlin lost to state Rep. Kristi Noem in 2010, left politics and is the president of Augustana University. Johnson retired from the Senate in 2015, still battling the impact of a brain hemorrhage he suffered in December 2006.

Democrats did not even run a candidate against Sen. John Thune in 2010 and only were able to put up a weak challenge in 2016 and 2022. Rep. Dusty Johnson has not had an opponent in his last two campaigns.

There are twice as many registered Republicans as there are Democrats in the state, and voters who are either registered independents or list no party have just about caught up with the Democrats. They soon may rank third in total registrations, with all trends pointing in that direction, according to monthly registration totals from the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office.

In recent years, the party closed its offices in Sioux Falls and Rapid City and laid off all staff, unable to pay for both space and people. It has since reopened both offices, but finances remain precarious.

Slaight-Hansen claimed in a guest column for The South Dakota Standard that she was told the party was in financial trouble and might have to reduce its staff. But then she was caught up in a recall effort after she refused to resign, and the Democrats had to engage in a very ugly and public feud.

Merrill (seen above in an image from his Facebook page) has been interested in politics his whole life, and volunteered for Herseth Sandlin’s 2010 campaign. He served a term on the Parker City Council, and ran for the state Senate. This year, he decided to get involved in the state party.

Merrill said he is glad the turmoil of this summer is behind them, and sees a path forward.

“We must reach out to rural voters, disinterested voters, independents and moderates just like George McGovern did,” he told me. “I think we needed a rural voice, a farm voice, a moderate voice as chair.”

McGovern inherited an even bigger mess when he was named party secretary in 1953. Republicans outnumbered Democrats 108-2 in the Legislature. It’s not quite that lopsided now, but it is bad — the GOP controls both chambers and has a 94-11 edge.

Can the Democrats win more seats in the state Senate and House of Representatives? Can they win a statewide race? Can they elect a governor in 2026, breaking a losing streak that will have passed half a century at that point?

In 1956, three years after the SDDP was at a low ebb, McGovern was elected to Congress, launching a brilliant career that made him famous across the globe and allowed him to run for president in 1968, 1972, when he was the Democratic nominee, and 1984.

McGovern made agriculture his central issue in 1956, targeting U.S.Agriculture Secretary Ezra Taft Benson, who was very unpopular with most farmers. It worked, and McGovern won. He went on to serve two terms in the House and three in the Senate.

McGovern opened the door for South Dakota Democrats like Ralph Herseth, Dick Kneip, James Abourezk, Frank Denholm, Harvey Wollman, Tom Daschle, Tim Johnson and Herseth Sandlin. They all served from 1959-2015, and made an impact on South Dakota.

It’s time for Democrats in this state to make a mark again. They have to move past the internal battle of 2023 and focus on registering voters, raising money, recruiting candidates and winning elections.

Merrill, 31, is in charge of trying to repair things and get ready for 2024. He said Ahlers will remain a party staffer until the executive director position is filled. A hiring committee was selected to examine the candidates and make a recommendation.

Ahlers “resigned” at the end of July, but he has never left the payroll and remains a party leader. It’s time to straighten that out — exactly what is his role?

How much influence does he have? Slaight-Hansen said when she clashed with Ahlers, a former legislator who was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020, she soon found herself attacked from all sides by party leaders.

Is Merrill really in charge? Does he need to ask Ahlers, Nesiba and other SDDP veterans before he makes any decisions?

He said he is the leader of the party “as far as I know,” and does not need to ask permission to make a decision.

“I don’t think I have to tread lightly,” Merrill said.

Slaight-Hansen admits she did not take baby steps. She tried to make changes and make a difference, and found great resistance and was soon on the outside looking in. Merrill, the third SDDP chair this year, thinks he can move ahead without opposition.

Surely the South Dakota Democratic Party has had enough of this family feuding, and is ready to battle Republicans instead of each other. Merrill, a young leader in a party that has long been dominated by gray-haired folks who look back at past glories, must look to the future and try to make his party competitive again.

Here’s wishing him luck, because he surely will need it.

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.