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 34
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 | |||
| Jason Green | R | Candidate did not respond | |
| Taffy Howard | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (SDRTL, 2021-22) | |
| Michael Calabrese | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Heather Baxter | R | Candidate indicated support for bills protecting life and commented: I stand for the Right to Life for all ages. |
| Mike Derby | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) |
| Becky J Drury | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) |
| 2) EDUCATION OPTIONS – Do the candidates support expanded options for education? (Ex: Private school opportunities, homeschooling, etc.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Jason Green | R | Candidate did not respond | |
| Taffy Howard | R | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (3/3) | |
| Michael Calabrese | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Heather Baxter | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide greater educational options and commented: Parents know their children’s learning needs and environment to thrive in best. Let parents choose what’s best for their children not the state, local or (word limit) |
| Mike Derby | R | Candidate has a 50% record of support for education options (2/4) |
| Becky J Drury | R | Candidate has a 25% record of support for education options (1/4) |
| 3) MARIJUANA REGULATIONS – Do the candidates support reasonable regulations on marijuana? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Jason Green | R | Candidate did not respond | |
| Taffy Howard | R | Candidate has a strong record of voting against marijuana expansion (Industry scorecard, 2022) | |
| Michael Calabrese | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| House | ||
| Heather Baxter | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide reasonable marijuana regulations and commented: I support bills that would bring regulation on all physician prescribed medications. I believe the current marijuana is laced with synthetic compounds, chemicals and sometimes (word limit) |
| Mike Derby | R | Candidate has an F rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) |
| Becky J Drury | R | Candidate has an F rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) |
| 4) AGE VERIFICATION – Do the candidates support legislation to require age-verification for explicit websites? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Jason Green | R | Candidate did not respond | |
| Taffy Howard | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that require age verification for explicit websites and commented: This really is a “no brainer” to protect our children and I’m ashamed of the legislators who voted against it this past session. | |
| Michael Calabrese | D | ||
| House | ||
| Heather Baxter | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that require age verification for explicit websites and commented: As of now, 9 states have successfully accomplished this. I fully support it. SD taxpayers should not pay for any lewd or lascivioius activities in (word limit) |
| Mike Derby | R | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) |
| Becky J Drury | R | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) |
