US Rep. Dusty Johnson announces he's entering race to become South Dakota governor
Johnson's office issued a news release announcing his plans shortly before he was set to speak at a Sioux Falls hotel.
Johnson has served as South Dakota's only congressman since 2019, succeeding Kristi Noem's congressional tenure, and has taken moderate stances during his time in Washington. He has supported antitrust legislation and opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified the Supreme Court's federal recognition of gay marriage.
He sometimes joined a minority of Republicans in voting against President Donald Trump, including when he voted to override Trump's veto of a measure that revoked his declaration of an emergency at the southern border. He was later one of 35 House Republicans who voted to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Now the 48-year-old aims to become the first elected governor since Noem, who used her time in Pierre to build a national profile and draw attention to the small-population Midwest state. Noem has since become Trump's secretary of Homeland Security, leaving her position in January which was filled by current governor Larry Rhoden.
Johnson is entering what could be a crowded Republican primary next June, competing against state Rep. Jon Hansen, an Aberdeen businessman who championed a landowner movement against a carbon capture pipeline. Johnson may also be challenged by Rhoden, though the latter has not yet announced a gubernatorial campaign.
Johnson first entered public office when he was elected to be a public utilities commissioner in 2004 and became the youngest commissioner in the nation at age 28. He later served as chief of staff for South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
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Republican tax cut calls for shielding retirement income from Wisconsin income taxes
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Legislature passes and Evers signs budget after sprint to get ahead of Trump big bill
MADISON – In a move unheard of in Wisconsin, state lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers passed and signed into law a new state budget in less than 24 hours as they raced to set funding levels before Congress could enact new limits. Evers signed the $111 billion two-year spending plan into law just after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, July 3, less than an hour after the state Assembly sent the Democratic governor the final budget bill. "We're a purple state," Evers told reporters before signing the bipartisan compromise bill. "We're going to be a purple state for, I'm guessing, a long time, and so we need to work together. … It's hard work, and we accomplished lots of things. We didn't accomplish everything we wanted, but you know what? That's the way it works." The 2025-27 budget is the product of weeks of negotiations between Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic governor — the first bipartisan agreement of its kind since Evers was elected seven years ago, ushering in an era of divided government. "We're at a time in politics in America where people believe that it's hard to get anything done, where two sides are such polar opposites on so many issues," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, ahead of the vote. "But … on an issue like (the budget), it really took both sides to come to the table, listen to the other and try to be able to put our differences aside and focus on what brings us together." The state leaders raced to pass the state budget Wednesday to lock in more funding for hospitals before President Donald Trump signs into law a plan that would prevent such increases in the future. The state budget plan includes a provision that would expand the state's tax on hospitals from 1.8% to 6% and use those funds to draw down additional federal matching dollars for Medicaid programs. These funds would be used to offset ongoing costs and to make additional payments to hospitals. Trump's spending bill bars states from increasing such taxes in the future, prompting Wisconsin leaders to lock in new rates before the bill is signed into law as early as Thursday, July 3. "We want our health care system to be in good shape, and in order to do that, we're going to need help from the federal government," Evers said after signing the budget. "And whatever we can do before they pass … the federal budget, we will be able to access help from them to keep our hospitals afloat. It's absolutely critical for us to do that." More: Derrick Van Orden sends mixed messages on Medicaid funding in Trump's big bill The state Senate passed the spending package 19-14, with four Republicans and 10 Democrats voting against the plan, just after 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 2 — 12 hours after the chamber was scheduled to begin debate. But lawmakers debated in fits and starts, pausing to meet in caucus as legislative leaders sought to whip votes for the plan. At one point, lawmakers in the state Senate recessed for hours while leaders drafted a new amendment to the budget bill that added tens of millions in spending and a measure requiring the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to study efficiencies at campuses experiencing declining enrollment, among other changes. The Assembly passed the budget 59-39 shortly before 1 a.m. after about five hours of debate. Throughout the debate, Republicans praised the budget as one that was improved by the removal of some of Evers' proposals, while Democrats credited the Senate seats they picked up last fall with earning them a seat at the negotiating table. The overall package cuts taxes by $1.3 billion, spends hundreds of millions on building projects on University of Wisconsin System campuses, expands Medicaid funding, increases funding for special education and funds new childcare programs, among other measures. In all, it spends $111 billion, a 12% increase over current spending levels. The agreement gives Republicans a win with the $1.3 billion tax cut plan that expands the state's second-lowest tax bracket to include more filers, exempt some retirement income from taxation, eliminate the residential utilities sales tax and create a film tax credit capped at $5 million per year. Democrats see a win in funding levels for the UW System, which saw one of the biggest turnarounds in the budget as a result of the bipartisan negotiations. Republicans in June threatened to cut universities by $87 million. Instead, the state's public universities will receive a more than $256 million boost over the next two years, the largest increase in more than 20 years, according to the governor's office. But the budget plan caused heartburn among lawmakers on each side of the aisle. "It's going to drive up property taxes, the least popular form of tax that we hear complaints about — why?" Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said on the floor before voting against the plan. "This budget just does not meet the mark of the political moment we find ourselves in." Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, voted against the budget despite it containing "a lot of good stuff," including funding for mental health, UW capital projects and a film production tax credit. She criticized a set of childcare regulatory changes and, like other Democrats who opposed the bill, said it fell short on education funding. "This budget is … an insult to educators and it is an attack on public education," Vining President Mary Felzkowski, a Republican from Tomahawk, said she voted against the budget because it did not go far enough in reining in healthcare costs. Felzkowski, who has been mentioned as a potential GOP candidate for governor in 2026, chastised Evers for "selling out to special interests" instead of including hospital price transparency changes at the state level in the budget. "Gov. Evers, you failed Wisconsin," Felzkowski said. "Elections have consequences and the Dems are at the table. Look what we could do if we were in control. That's what Democratic control gets us." Asked about Felzkowski's characterization of the provision as a giveaway to hospitals, Evers said, "That's bullshit." Overall, the budget had more supporters than detractors. Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff of Onalaska said the plan was "considerably better than not having a budget at all" after Democratic lawmakers were looped into negotiations. Included in the budget plan is $194 million to expand the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's science building. Pfaff praised the inclusion before voting "yes." "Not funding a building for 12 years because of partisan politics was ridiculous. I am very grateful that this has finally come to an end," he said. The spending plan Evers signed largely retained the provisions the Legislature passed, with some use of his partial veto authority. Notably, the governor removed the 2029 deadline from a provision that would have closed the Green Bay Correctional Institute by 2029. "We're going to close it, but we need more compromise on that," Evers said, pointing to the Legislature's bipartisan efforts to close the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls as an example to warn against setting such deadlines. Nearly 10 years after a law was passed requiring their closure in 2021, they remain open. Evers also reduced the amount of money allocated in the budget for new positions within the Legislative Audit Bureau, arguing the agency has enough funding and posiiton authority to fulfill its duties. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin passes state budget after sprint spurred by Trump big bill

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24 minutes ago
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Is a Republican who voted against state budget in one of Wisconsin's most flippable seats?
It's fair to say election season is never really over in Wisconsin. Democrats are already looking ahead to the fall 2026 elections, when they'll have more chances to pick up seats in the state Legislature, and perhaps flip control of the state Senate. The State Senate Democratic Committee is already eyeing one competitive seat, held by Republican state Sen. Rob Hutton of Brookfield.'Senator Hutton is in the most flippable Senate seat in Wisconsin,' the SSDC, which works to get Democrats elected to the chamber, posted on X on June 27, 2025. This is all in the context of the state's two-year budget and speculation at the time that Hutton might vote against it. Hutton ultimately voted 'no' on the budget, joining three Republicans and 10 Democrats in the Senate who rejected the full plan because it either spent too much or didn't invest enough in areas like K-12 education. In a statement after his vote, Hutton said the budget would create a deficit, 'putting Wisconsin families in a worse spot for the future.' 'In a time of economic uncertainty, when our spending decisions warrant further restraint and discernment, we need a budget that creates proper spending priorities and puts taxpayers first,' Hutton said. Wisconsin voters are likely to hear lots about toss-up legislative seats and how incumbents voted on policies in the budget. Let's determine whether Hutton's district, which includes communities west of Milwaukee like Brookfield, Wauwatosa, Pewaukee and West Allis, is truly the most competitive. We contacted the SSDC, which said it ran the math based on voting results from the 2024 presidential and Senate elections. Democrats see two other seats as competitive, those held by Sen. Howard Marklein of Spring Green and Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine. Both Republicans voted for the budget. The question for us is whether Hutton's seat is more competitive than the other two. Based on the committee's math, former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin carried Hutton's district by a higher percentage than they carried the other two districts. In Hutton's district, about 6,500 more voters cast ballots for Harris than President Donald Trump, compared to around 1,000 in the two other districts. And around 5,400 more voters in Hutton's district voted for Baldwin over Republican candidate Eric Hovde, significantly more than in the other two competitive districts. The SSDC didn't provide a breakdown of the district's voting pattern in the state Supreme Court race, but said liberal Justice Susan Crawford's performance in Hutton's district added to its conclusion. John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University, did a similar analysis. His findings confirmed that Harris and Baldwin performed better in Hutton's district than in three other battleground districts. Meanwhile, Johnson found Crawford carried Hutton's district by double digits – Crawford actually had a higher margin in Marklein's district. We're getting way into the details, but all this supports Democrats' claim that Hutton's district is at least one of the two most flippable in Wisconsin. Of course, races for the state Legislature are different than those for president, Senate and state Supreme Court. We can't look at how much Hutton won by in 2024 in his new seat, because he wasn't on the ballot last year. In 2022, when his district lines were different, he won by about seven percentage points. Democratic candidate Sarah Harrison is running against Hutton this time around. She ran for state Assembly in 2024, losing to Republican Rep. Adam Neylon from Pewaukee by about 18 points. PolitiFact Wisconsin asked Hutton for further comment but didn't hear back. The State Senate Democratic Committee said Hutton 'is in the most flippable Senate seat in Wisconsin.' Hutton was one of 53 lawmakers, including Republicans and Democrats, who voted against the state budget. Calculations from the SSDC and an independent researcher confirm Harris and Baldwin carried Hutton's district by a higher percentage than two other competitive districts held by Republicans. And while Crawford performed slightly better in one of those other battlegrounds, she still carried Hutton's district by a significant margin. None of this confirms Hutton's seat will turn blue next year, but it is likely the Senate's most competitive seat. We rate the claim True. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, After an intense election season, the political focus shifts to state races in Wisconsin, Nov. 11, 2024. X, Wisconsin Senate Democrats, June 27, 2025. MacIver Institute, Budget Delay Is an Opportunity for Reform, Sen. Rob Hutton, June 27, 2025. Wisconsin State Legislature, 2025 Senate Vote 81, July 2, 2025. Wisconsin State Senator Rob Hutton, Statement on Budget, July 2, 2025. Wisconsin State Legislature, Senate District 5. Email exchange, Will Karcz, State Senate Democratic Committee communications director, July 1, 2025. Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog, John Johnson, What the Supreme Court Election tells us about Wisconsin's Legislative Districts, June 4, 2025. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2022 Wisconsin State Senate - District 5 Election Results. WisPolitics, Harrison campaign: Announces bid for Wisconsin State Senate district 5, June 13, 2025. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2024 Wisconsin General Elections Results - State Assembly District 15. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Legislature passes and Evers signs budget after sprint to get ahead of Trump big bill, July 3, 2025. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Does GOP state budget holdout have most competitive seat in Wisconsin?