SCAM ALERT

Investigate everyone, trust no one.

Are you running for office?? You might want to investigate your opponent.

Do you plan to vote in the primary? Do your research!

If you are on the ballot in the 2026 Republican primary election, you likely have an opponent. Even the lowest elected office of county precinct committee person positions are being challenged statewide. The war for internal control of the GOP has ensued. The gloves are off.

Have you seen posts like this on social media?

Or how about this?

We saw this in the last two primary elections, Democrats changing their party affiliation to vote in the Republican primary, only to change back again after the election. Some Democrats change to Republican, run for office, win, and vote like Democrats in their Republican legislative seat. The scam is old news, but it is becoming more coordinated and well funded. There is a war for control of the party and winning the information war rests with YOU.

A lifetime Republican voter and candidate for Precinct Committee Person recently checked into their opponent. A quick check of the voter rolls revealed that the opposition candidate was a lifetime registered Democrat who updated their voter registration in February only to change party affiliation to “Republican”. This person then turned in their Precinct Committee Candidate form on the last day to do so, March 30th.

OF NOTE: The voter registration form (which is public record) was entirely hand written, EXCEPT for the party affiliation box, which was typewritten “Republican”. Now, no one prints a form off the internet and hand writes the entire document but types only one box, right? This tells us someone or a group has printed many, filled out the box “Republican”, and are out recruiting people to change their party affiliation to affect the outcome of the primary election, AND the results of the GOP convention. Is that legal? Yes. Ethical. Not so much. The system is being abused and manipulated, in more ways than one. (The suspected bogus precinct committee forms in Minnehaha County came to mind, still under investigation.)

This suddenly converted democrat also happens to be Managing Director and Operations Lead for Raise Run. Raise Run is a fictitious business name for High Street, LLC, which leads to Ellie Highstreet. Ellie Highstreet, owner and founder of Raise Run, also chair of the now terminated South Dakota Prairie PAC, reported on in the article below.

Sioux Empire Better Government Summit : FOLLOW THE MONEY

Those funds went to Sioux Empire Better Government Committee $3,000.00, Steve Swenson For Sheriff $500.00, Ryan Heine For Yankton County Commissioner, $500.00 Wendy Hogan For Lincoln County District 1 Commission $1,000.00, Friends Of Law Enforcement $1,000.00, Friends Of Taylor Rehfeldt $500.00, Stevens For House $500.00, Kippley For Commission $2,000.00, Stephanie Moser For Yankton City Commission $500.00.

2024 Pre-General reporting shows contributions from Joe Kippley and Ryan Budmayr, SD Chamber of Commerce President, also a USGLC SD Advisory Committee Member.

This infiltration reaches far beyond isolated races. Lifelong Democrats with zero Republican history are systematically embedding themselves as candidates across South Dakota. Once elected, these Trojan horse operatives seize control of the party’s core: drafting the official platform, rewriting rules and bylaws, electing constitutional officers, and shaping the Republican brand for years to come. They alter leadership elections, water down pro-life and Second Amendment language, insert vague “compromise” positions on taxes and education, and protect establishment insiders. The result is a hollowed-out GOP that sounds conservative on crafty campaign literature, but governs like a watered-down version of the Democrats it claims to oppose; a deliberate hostile takeover that neuters South Dakota values and betrays the voters who trusted the Republican label.

The war for control of the South Dakota Republican Party — and by extension, the future of our state — is in full swing. Do not assume your local race is safe, or the candidates on your ballot are actually what they claim to be. Investigate everyone. Share what you find. Inform your fellow Republicans and never take your eyes off the ball. This is a coordinated takeover attempt — every precinct seat matters, every elected office critical, and every unopposed race is now a vulnerability. Elections are won and lost in the primary in South Dakota, and the primary is 27 days away.

Stay vigilant, expose the infiltrators, and fight for the future of our state.

South Dakota’s principles are on the line.