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Toft Ends Candidacy after Hitting Kid on Bike

The only good part of this story: the seven-year-old girl appears to be o.k.

Carmen Toft is no longer a candidate for District 10 House. Sioux Falls police arrested my friend Carmen last Tuesday, May 22, after she hit a seven-year-old bicyclist with her car. Police cited Toft for drunk driving and careless driving.

State Democratic Party chair Ben Nesselhuf now says Toft was only a placeholder on the ballot and was planning before this incident to officially withdraw from the race after the primary. SDCL 12-6-56 allows county party central committee members from District 10 to fill vacancies that arise after the primary election. SDCL 12-8-6 says such vacancies must be filled before the second Tuesday in August.

As a friend and debate judge who knows Toft's powerful intellect and speaking skills, I was eager to see her tear Jenna Haggar apart in debates this fall. As a teetotaling liberal and father of an aspiring six-year-old cyclist, that eagerness disappeared the moment I read the article. I'm inclined to ask Nesselhuf to require all candidates to swear off alcohol. Grrrr.

12 Comments

  1. caheidelberger Post author | 2012.05.30

    May be a technical maneuver, Stace. She says she's withdrawing, but it's not official until Gant gets papers. My read of state law is that the party only gets to fill the spot if a candidate withdraws after the primary. It appears Toft needs to hold that place until next week Wednesday.

  2. grudznick 2012.05.30

    Gant will pick a good replacement, and not one of Mr. Howie's insane minions.

  3. caheidelberger Post author | 2012.05.30

    Grudz, Toft is a Dem. Regardless of party, the Secretary does no picking in this situation.

  4. Troy Jones 2012.05.31

    Whether she was originally or not, she obviously is a placeholder.

  5. Steve Hickey 2012.05.31

    My view is this placeholder loophole needs to be shut. If a party cant meet the filing deadlines that's too bad. I know both parties use the loophole, the Dems more. Still, deadlines are deadlines and if they apply to me they should apply to every race.

  6. caheidelberger Post author | 2012.05.31

    I'm inclined to agree, Steve, but independent of this case, does SDCL 12-6-56 have some legitimate use? Suppose a party fields a serious candidate, the primary date passes, and then...

    ---she gets called up for Guard duty;
    ---a family member becomes seriously ill and requires long-term care; or
    ---she lands a bang-up job on the other side of the state and has to move.

    If a candidate's life situation changes, who is harmed by allowing the party to name a replacement to carry the party banner before the ballots are printed?

  7. Nick Nemec 2012.05.31

    I'm trying to decide if grudznick is serious or being slyly sarcastic. Given Mr. Gant's recent endorsements, his position as chief election officer of the state and his deputy's election consulting business I'll go with slyly sarcastic.

  8. Bill Fleming 2012.05.31

    Yeah, he's sly alright, Nick. Who the heck is grudznick anyway? Does anybody know?

  9. Troy 2012.05.31

    I disagree with Steve and Cory.

    First of all, the primary filing deadline is to set the stage for a primary. If there is no primary (but we can't know if there is a primary unless we have a deadline and their are more candidates than seats), that filing deadline is meaningless.

    Second, as Cory notes, circumstances can change for a candidate that would prevent them from running. The system is not served to give the other person an automatic victory or require a person clearly identified with a party to have to run as an Independent.

    Third, potential candidates may be unable to make a commitment by the primary. If the party can't find another candidate by the deadline, using a placeholder gives them the chance to either find another candidate or wait for a potential candidates personal situation to be clarified.

    Finally, I want to prove my conservative Republican credentials by disagreeing with a "RINO" and a liberal. :)

  10. D.E. Bishop 2012.05.31

    I don't see that there is any proof yet that Toft was intoxicated. She refused the breath-alyzer. That's just smart. Any decent defense lawyer will tell you to request a blood test instead. Breath-alyzers are subject to many false positives.

    As for hitting the child, that is terrifying. I've never come close, thanks be to god.

Comments are closed.