Billy Mawhiney, a Democrat from Sioux Falls, has announced his candidacy for the U.S. House. (Courtesy of Billy Mawhiney)
Sioux Falls nonprofit executive Billy Mawhiney announced Thursday he is running for South Dakota’s lone U.S. House of Representatives seat.
Mawhiney is the executive director for the South Dakota Afterschool Network and has lived in South Dakota for nearly 20 years, after moving from his home state of Missouri. Mawhiney is a member of the Wyandotte Nation, a Native American tribe in Oklahoma, and has two children with his husband. He said in a news release that he is dedicated to strengthening rural communities, nonprofits and after-school programs.
The Democrat is the first from his party to publicly announce a bid for the House seat. Attorney General Marty Jackley declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination earlier this summer, and state Rep. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. The House seat will be up for grabs in next year’s election because Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson is running for governor.
Mawhiney said in a news release that he believes “folks are tired of politics.” He’s running because he intends to give South Dakota families a stronger voice in Washington, D.C.
“I believe we deserve someone who understands our daily lives — someone who will always put people ahead of politics,” Mawhiney said. “I represent the families who have entrusted their children with the programs I’ve led and the communities who’ve never had someone like them at the table.”
Two Sioux Falls Democrats voiced support in the announcement: former South Dakota state Rep. Linda Duba and state Senate Minority Leader Liz Larson.
“From his advocacy alongside tribal voices to his leadership on child care and education, I am confident South Dakotans can rely on him to show up,” Larson said. “He understands rural communities in a way that is so rare.”
Besides Crabtree and Jackley, James Bialota, who describes himself as a small business owner and real estate investor, has said on Facebook that he plans to run as a Republican for the U.S. House.
A Democrat named Scott Schlagel has also filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for the seat.