State Republican Party severs ties with longtime politico, blogger

GOP will no longer pay Pat Powers for services, advertising

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PIERRE — A familiar face on the South Dakota political scene will no longer have contractual ties to the party that he has been involved with for more than two decades.

That’s after the South Dakota Republican Party’s Central Committee voted overwhelmingly Saturday to cancel any future contracts with the Brookings man behind DakotaWarCollege.com and Dakota Campaign Store, Pat Powers.

Multiple Central Committee members explained to The Dakota Scout that their beef with Powers had to do with a shared sentiment the longtime blogger had stepped up his attacks on those Republican politicians who have not utilized his campaign or advertising services.

In addition to his blogs, Powers prints and distributes campaign merchandise through his at-home business.

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“For decades, South Dakota Republicans have had to pay an extortion fee in the form of campaign services in exchange for avoiding his dirty attacks,” said Minnehaha County State Committeeman Tom Pischke, who also serves as a lawmaker. Pischke, who has been on the receiving end of a number of Powers’ attacks, was one of the leaders of the effort to cancel his future contracts. “Saturday, the extortion ended!”

Powers instead credits his ouster to a small faction of the party, polarizing the county organizations. In most of the state’s largest counties by population, hard-right conservatives have secured posts in party leadership over more moderate candidates. A similar strife can be found in the state’s Legislature.