Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, speaks on the South Dakota Senate floor on March 3, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Madison Republican state Sen. Casey Crabtree formally announced Monday that he is running for South Dakota’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives next year, pledging to carry out President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda.
“I am the only conservative Republican in this race who has always delivered on an ‘America First,’ ‘South Dakota Always’ agenda,” Crabtree said in an interview with South Dakota Searchlight.
Crabtree works in economic development for Heartland Energy, a wholesale electrical power provider. He said his background in energy development, creating jobs and helping “rural communities thrive” is what President Trump is looking for.
Jackley calls for improved legal immigration policy while launching his campaign for Congress
Other declared candidates include Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley, Democratic nonprofit executive Billy Mawhiney, of Sioux Falls, and Democratic former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Nikki Gronli, of rural Dell Rapids. Another Democrat, Scott Schlagel, of Dell Rapids, has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
The House seat is up for grabs next year because U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, is running for governor.
Crabtree said he is the best fit for the job, pointing to legislation he has helped enact in South Dakota. The list includes a temporary sales tax reduction, a ban on sanctuary policies for unauthorized immigration, a tax refund for gas stations to incentivize ethanol use, a $200 million fund for housing infrastructure, and several annual freezes on state university tuition.
“When you look at that huge list of things, that is the America First agenda, and that is us delivering on that,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree was appointed to the state Senate in 2020 by then-Gov. Kristi Noem, and he served as majority leader in 2023 and 2024. He lost his leadership position following his prime sponsorship of Senate Bill 201 in 2024.
The bill would have implemented new protections for landowners and counties impacted by the construction of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline, but would have stopped short of preventing pipeline companies from using a legal process known as eminent domain to gain land access from unwilling landowners. Opponents of the pipeline referred the legislation to the ballot, where voters rejected it, and a divide in the Republican Party over the bill played a role in 14 incumbent Republicans losing their seats during the June 2024 primary election. The winners of those races helped enact a ban on eminent domain for carbon pipelines earlier this year.
“I’ll never apologize for fighting for farmers and ranchers,” Crabtree said when asked about the 2024 bill’s potential impact on his campaign. “It’s something that I’ve always done and I will always continue to do.”
The carbon pipeline project would capture and sequester some of the corn-based ethanol industry’s CO2 emissions in an attempt to gain tax credits and access markets demanding less carbon-intensive fuels. Crabtree has said the effort supports President Trump’s agenda of ensuring energy dominance while creating more demand for corn.
When asked about Trump’s tariff policies, which some in agriculture have criticized, Crabtree defended them.
“For far too long, countries like China haven’t held up their end of the deal and they hurt American businesses, American workers, and certainly hurt our family farmers,” he said. “The president is the ultimate deal maker, and I’m confident that he’s going to use tariffs in the short term to negotiate better trade deals for American workers and our family farmers.”
When asked if Trump is hard enough on Russia and whether he should do more to aid Ukraine, Crabtree said Trump is handling the situation “perfectly.” He said Trump is trying to end the war, something “Biden never did.”
“He needs strong allies like myself who will be serving in Congress to make sure he can deliver on that America First Agenda,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree grew up in Arlington, graduated from Northern State University in Aberdeen, and lives in Madison with his wife, Ashley, and their two sons. Ashley owns an optometry practice.
The Republican primary for the congressional seat, which would pit Crabtree against Jackley and any other Republican candidates who arise, is June 2, 2026. The general election will be Nov. 3, 2026.
Campaign news, delivered to you: Sign up for our free newsletter.