PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) – In politics, it was once considered a virtue to compromise and reach across the aisle.

But that’s not how all South Dakota Legislators review the process today, particularly the group of conservative pro-landowner Republicans who unseated more traditional Republicans in the June 2024 primary.

The Bitterness Lingers?

Rep. Logan Manhart, R-Aberdeen, took fellow Republican Rep. Drew Peterson, R-Salem, to task for Peterson’s recent comments at a forum on democracy in Vermillion.

“Want to know why so many pieces of good legislation died by only a few votes this year?” Manhart wrote on X Saturday. “Some Republicans openly worked with Democrats to undermine true Conservative causes. Their response?: “We did our job.””

South Dakota Searchlight quoted Peterson at a panel discussion on democracy hosted by the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota.

There are 96 Republicans and 9 Democrats in the South Dakota Legislature.

At the start of the legislative session that ends on Monday, populist Republicans ousted the previous, more traditional Republican leadership. There was a complete changeover in GOP leadership and most committee chairs.

S.D.’s GOP Schism Not Unusual

Because the Republican Party has dominated politics for most of South Dakota’s history, it is not unusual for there to be a schism within party ranks in Pierre.

The South Dakota Republican Party has had two competing groups since before statehood, according to historian Jon Lauck. In the early days, “Stalwarts” (conservatives) battled “Progressives” (reformers). This split was evident in 1912 when South Dakota Republicans chose Theodore Roosevelt over President Taft on their ballot.

The pattern continues today. According to press reports, in February 2025, Jim Eschenbaum—a former Obama supporter, recent Trump acolyte, retired Hand County Commissioner, and farmer—won the party chair position by appealing to grassroots Republicans who are concerned about property rights and oppose carbon pipelines. The recent GOP intraparty election also “cleaned house” of moderate Republicans in leadership roles.

The legislature returns to the Capitol at 1 p.m. Monday to consider one bill vetoed by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden.