Interim head of S.D. Democrats wants permanent gig

Shane Merrill of Parker will run for Democratic Party chair position

Shane Merrill (Facebook)

The interim chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party wants the temporary tag dropped.

According to a letter obtained by The Dakota Scout, Shane Merrill announced to state central committee members this week that he intends to run for the chair position when that group meets again on Saturday to tap someone to serve for the remainder of a four-year term that began in May.

“A steady hand is needed at this critical time, and I feel I can bring just that along with a fresh perspective to the post,” Merrill wrote. 

A self-fashioned “blue dog” Democrat, Merrill served as vice-chair under former chair Jennifer Slaight-Hansen, who was unanimously recalled last month. But the Parker native got his start in party politics much earlier– Merrill worked on Stephanie Herseth Sandlin’s campaign for Congress in 2010.

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A farmer in his day to day life, Merrill served one term on his home town’s city council, before launching an unsuccessful campaign for the legislature in 2016.

“My goal going forward will be to bring a team approach to the position of chair, as well as keeping things open and transparent for you,” Merrill said. 

Merrill represents a constituency of voters that Democrats will likely need to regain if they ever hope to once again have a foothold in South Dakota politics. Currently, registered Democratic voters are outnumbered by Republicans two-to-one, and the party has won no statewide elections since 2008. The party’s woes were further exacerbated by the combative removal of Slaight-Hansen just four months into her tenure.

But the interim chair of the party points to 1952 when the party held only two state legislative seats. That same year, a George McGovern joined the party’s ranks– and helped steer them back to statewide prominence through vigorous grassroots campaign efforts.

“There is no doubt that we are in tough times,” Merrill said. “(But) we have persisted in even tougher times.” 

Central committee members will select their new chair during a party event this Saturday in Rapid City. Currently, the only other candidate for the position is John Cunningham, who unsuccessfully ran against Slaight-Hansen in February.

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