Oh yeah: state Senator Larry Rhoden's running to bore us to death—er, I mean, not finish last in South Dakota's GOP Senate primary. His third-quarter FEC filing produces a couple interesting notes:
GOP Chair Craig Lawrence is making clear whom he prefers in the GOP primary. Rhoden's Q3 report includes $3,000 in contributions from Lawrence. The GOP chair does not appear on the Q3 reports for Bosworth, Nelson, or Rounds. What gives? As Governor, Rounds finagles $23 million in perfectly innocuous no-bid state contracts for Lawrence's Sioux Falls ad agency, and Lawrence gives money to Rounds's opponent Larry Rhoden? Where's the love?
Team Rounds paid Lawrence & Schiller $42,500 for media and advertising on July 31. Rhoden received his contribution from Craig Lawrence on August 22. Isn't politics funny?
(Update 13:05 CDT: Two readers remind me that Craig Lawrence must just have money to burn. According to OpenSecrets.org, Lawrence gave Rounds $3,000 last December.)
Straighten this out by Thanksgiving, especially if Miriam is in charge of the turkey: Miriam Broin gave Rhoden $2,600 on September 24. Three days later, her husband, ethanol magnate turned investor Robert Broin, gave Marion Michael Rounds $2,000. The rest of the Broin family appears to be siding with Robert: Jeff, Linda, and Todd Broin have given Rounds another $13,000. Broin's POET PAC gave Rounds $5,000.
I still think the Rhoden campaign is a "flash bang"-a distraction device to dilute the anti-Rounds vote in the primary, just in case.
Many reasonable conservatives are backing Mr. Rhoden, and they be wise.
rounds is better off with 3 weak challengers than with one strong challenger so spreading the money around is the best thing rounds's supporters can do for him even better than giving money to rounds
Mr. Rhoden's voting record does not show him to be a "conservative"-unless you call being the governor's Butt Boy conservative. He is nothing more than the usual Gaga (Go along get along) Republican. That is why I suspect his entire campaign of being a put up job by the RINO establishment.