Ballots in Legislative District 35 will include two Republican incumbents facing two Democratic challengers for the state House of Representatives.
Republicans Tina Mulally and Tony Randolph, and Democrats David Hubbard and Pat Cromwell are vying for the two District 35 seats in the House for the Nov. 3 general election. The district's boundaries include parts of central and west Box Elder, portions of east Rapid City, Rapid Valley and areas south.
Cromwell grew up on a farm near Draper and graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in sociology and child development. She has been a social worker on the Pine Ridge Reservation and worked for both the Christian Children's Fund and the Northern Plains Native American Chemical Dependency Association as a consultant.
She said she is running for office out of a need for state legislators to promote public health.
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"People with debilitating conditions can't work full-time," Cromwell said. "If we expanded health coverage to all families, we'd be more productive."
Cromwell said she is supportive of the two marijuana measures on the ballot, one that would legalize medical cannabis and the other that would legalize recreational use. She also lobbied successfully to get CBD removed from the list of controlled substances in South Dakota.
Other items Cromwell supports include early childhood education and increased public support of state universities. Citing her experience working on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Cromwell also believes that the state should increase dialogue with Native American tribes "as partners in good government."
Hubbard is a project manager and web developer for Robert Sharp & Associates, Inc., and is a retired U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Paratrooper. He grew up in Yale and graduated from Iroquois High School and South Dakota State University.
He said he decided to run to represent the entire community, not just a fringe group.
"Our current legislators are following a rigid right-wing agenda that divides us and sets us back," Hubbard said. "I strongly support equality for all South Dakotans. We must treat our Indigenous peoples, minority religions, and LGBTQ community with dignity and respect.
"One-party government has not been good for South Dakota. We need checks and balances. I'll do my best to represent all the citizens of District 35 and the people of the state of South Dakota."
Hubbard said South Dakota should expand Medicaid coverage, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic crisis has shown the need for everyone to have coverage and access to quality health care," he said.
Hubbard believes climate change is manmade and South Dakota should take steps to reduce the worst impacts while helping farmers and ranchers survive. He also strongly believes in the development of more renewable energy in the state.
Mulally was first elected to the state House in 2018. She unsuccessfully ran for the state Senate in 2016.
During the 2020 Legislature, Mulally served on the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and the Local Government Committee. She said she believes in limited local and state government, that the economy is best when left to the private sector and low taxes favor local economic growth.
"The American way of life is under attack. I want to be part of the effort to return government to its proper function," Mulally told the Journal. "The founding principles of individual freedom and self-governance will always work best for South Dakotans."
Mulally is staunchly pro-life and supports Second Amendment rights. She said she wants to continue to work to allow small businesses in South Dakota to grow.
In the 2020 legislative session, Mulally passed three bills and had two tabled. Two bills, one revising water development districts and another to allow video monitoring in nursing homes, were signed by Gov. Kristi Noem. The other resolution she sponsored was to support the Electoral College.
Randolph was elected to the House in 2018. During the 2020 legislative session, Randolph served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Education Committee and Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Randolph said he is an "uncompromising conservative" who wants to pull government "out of the pit of corruption and fiscal irresponsibility." He is a pro-life Christian, citing his faith as the guiding light for him to continue in office.
"I have become frustrated and grieved as our state and our nation grow colder to the things of God; our society becomes more torn apart and self-absorbed and our government becomes increasingly more unstable and unreliable," Randolph told the Journal. "We, the people, elect representatives and send them off with the best of intentions, hopes and lofty promises; only to be rewarded with bureaucracy, excuses and wavering, un-grounded principles."
Randolph said he wants to continue representing his constituents in Pierre to fight for stability, accountability and the strength in state government.
In the 2020 legislative session, Randolph sponsored eight bills but only saw one pass the House. His bill to support prayer in public schools passed 66-4 in the House. However, in the Senate, the title was amended before it passed. Instead of a bill to support prayer in public schools, the Senate struck the final three words and the bill became a far less controversial "bill to support prayer."
Randolph withdrew four bills, including one that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Two more were tabled and one failed in the House.