2024 Voter Guide – SD LEGISLATURE
You’ll find information on:
Sanctity of Life
Do the candidates support protections for unborn life?
Education Options
Do the candidates support all forms of education, including private schools and home school?
Marijuana Regulations
Are the candidates committed to keeping marijuana from running rampant in our communities?
Age Verification
Do the candidates support safeguards to keep young children from accessing explicit content online?
DISTRICT 20
Green: Strong voting record or survey response
Grey: Mixed voting record or inconclusive survey response
Red: Weak voting record or survey response
“S” inside the circle: Survey results from a new candidate (no voting record)
Blank: No voting record or survey answer
For full details on scoring, click here.
| 1) LIFE – Do the candidates support the sanctity of life? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Paul Miskimins | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (SDRTL, 2021-22) | |
| Gary Steichen | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Ben Krohmer | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) |
| Jeff Bathke | R | Candidate indicated support for bills protecting life |
| Don Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| John Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| 2) EDUCATION OPTIONS – Do the candidates support expanded options for education? (Ex: Private school opportunities, homeschooling, etc.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Paul Miskimins | R | Candidate has a 0% record of support for education options (0/2) | |
| Gary Steichen | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Ben Krohmer | R | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (2/2) |
| Jeff Bathke | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide greater educational options |
| Don Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| John Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| 3) MARIJUANA REGULATIONS – Do the candidates support reasonable regulations on marijuana? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Paul Miskimins | R | Candidate has a strong record of voting against marijuana expansion (Industry scorecard, 2022) | |
| Gary Steichen | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Ben Krohmer | R | Candidate has an F rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) |
| Jeff Bathke | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide reasonable marijuana regulations |
| Don Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| John Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| 4) AGE VERIFICATION – Do the candidates support legislation to require age-verification for explicit websites? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Paul Miskimins | R | No candidate voting record or survey response | |
| Gary Steichen | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Ben Krohmer | R | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) |
| Jeff Bathke | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that require age verification for explicit websites |
| Don Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
| John Schmidt | D | Candidate did not respond |
