Fargen Makes Way for Parsley and Lindsay in District 8 House

District 8 is the first and so far only two-seat legislative district with Democratic candidates for both seats. Scott Parsley and Roy Lindsay are ready to take on right-wing Santorum booster Leslie Heinemann from Flandreau.

One Flandreau man Parsley and Lindsay won't have to battle is current District 8 Rep. Mitch Fargen. Yesterday Fargen confirmed that he won't be running for District 8 House. He mentioned that he might still file to run against Russell Olson for the District 8 Senate seat. District 8 should welcome and encourage that possibility: Senator Olson stretches the truth, ignores and stifles public discourse, and legislates ineffectively around the edges without grand, bold vision. Fargen is a dynamic campaigner who who has perhaps the best chance of anyone in District 8 of beating Olson.

But keeping Fargen in District 8 may not be in the cards. Fargen has spent four years logging lots of miles across the long four-county spread of District 8, not to mention driving to Huron to work for the Farmers Union. There are lots of opportunities for a mover and shaker just down the road in Sioux Falls that would involve a lot less driving. Fargen wouldn't be the first young leader to take his talents just down the road for a little better quality of life, and who could blame him if he did?

Fargen has surely already done lots of thinking; his decision may already be made. Still, let me put in one pitch: Mitch, if you can stick around in District 8 and beat Russ Olson, you'd be doing the voters and the state a great service. And not that you need the boost, given you credibility in the state party, but challenging and taking down the GOP's golden boy would make an impression at the state level that Thune's giant-killing of Daschle made with his party at the national level in 2004. The only question is whether that battle is worth it, or whether you can find similar rewarding challenges elsewhere in the state.