Today, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jamie Smith announced that he will ask the State Democratic Convention to nominate Jennifer Healy Keintz, of Eden (in Marshall County), for lieutenant governor. Keintz, 48, is a first-term state representative from District 1.
The Smith/Keintz ticket will take on the incumbent ticket of Governor Kristi Noem of Castlewood and Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden of Union Center. Rhoden was nominated at the State Republican Convention two weeks ago, overcoming a last-minute challenge from failed gubernatorial candidate and former House Speaker Steve Haugaard.
Keintz withdrew her candidacy for a second legislative term this spring. Her selection means the Democrats will not lose a current legislative candidate from the fall campaign. As with Rhoden, the State Democratic Convention will need to ratify Smith’s selection of Keintz; that is not expected to be controversial. This blog wrote last month about how lieutenant governor candidates have been selected since statehood.
Like Smith, Keintz works in real estate, operating an independent real estate brokerage. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from South Dakota State University. After college, she worked in marketing and business in Rhode Island, New York, and Florida, before returning to South Dakota in 2014.
If the Smith/Keintz ticket is elected, Keintz would be the second female lieutenant governor, following Carole Hillard of Rapid City, and the first Democratic woman to hold that office.
Keintz will be the 5th woman to join a Democratic ticket for lieutenant governor, following Shirley Halleen of Sioux Falls in 1986, Elsie Meeks of Interior in 1998, Susy Blake of Sioux Falls in 2014, and Michelle Lavallee of Sioux Falls in 2018. This will be third consecutive gubernatorial election to include a female nominee for lieutenant governor.
The 2022 gubernatorial election will be the fourth to feature two women on the major party tickets, with Noem leading the Republican ticket and Keintz joining Smith’s ticket. The other three are 1998, when Lt. Governor Carole Hillard was challenged by Democrat Elsie Meeks; 2014, when the Democrat’s fielded an all-female ticket of Susan Wismer and Suzy Blake; and 2018, which featured Noem and Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Michelle Lavallee.
She would be the 1st lieutenant governor from Eden, but the 3rd from Marshall County, following Republicans Daniel T. Hindman (1897-99) and John E. McDougall (1905-07), who were both from Britton.
Northeastern South Dakota is a traditional Democratic stronghold. Legislative District 1, which generally includes Roberts, Marshall and Day counties is one of the few districts in the state that more often has sent Democrats to Pierre over the past several decades. Currently, though, Keintz is the only Democratic legislator from the district, serving alongside two Republicans, Senator Michael Rohl and Representative Tamara St. John.
Of the 20 distinct gubernatorial tickets nominated since 1974 (when the governor and lieutenant governor first ran as a ticket), the Smith/Keintz ticket is the 10th to feature two East River nominees, and the 14th to feature at least one nominee from greater Sioux Falls.
The selection of Keintz is entirely consistent with this blog’s predictions, which were based on historical patterns and not exactly big reaches. This blog predicted that:
- Smith will look outside the Sioux Falls area for a running mate.
- Correct – Keintz is a resident of Eden, in northeastern South Dakota.
- Smith needn’t select a running mate with legislative experience, but easily could.
- Correct – Keintz has served one term in the State House.
- Professional background is likely not a primary consideration.
- Correct – Keintz, like Smith, works in real estate.
- Age is not a factor for 51-year-old Smith.
- Correct – Keintz is 48; like Smith in a normal age range for a nominee.
- As an underdog to the Republican ticket, Smith is most likely to make an “unconventional” choice – a Republican party-switcher, a non-politician, or a Native American or member of another racial or ethnic minority.
- Keintz is a female, which at one time would have been unconventional but has become common. Otherwise, as a legislator, she is a conventional choice.
In South Dakota, candidates for Governor and LG have run together on a ticket since 1974. Here are the Democratic tickets since that time:
| DEM GOV NOMINEE | DEM LG NOMINEE | |
| 1974 | Dick Kneip – Salem – Incumbent was a former senate minority leader and businessman. | Harvey Wollman – Frankfort – Senate majority leader and a farmer. |
| 1978 | Roger McKellips – Alcester – State senator and banker. | Billie Sutton – Bonesteel – State senator and rancher. (This is the grandfather of the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor). |
| 1982 | Mike O’Connor – Brandon – Former senate president pro tempore and businessman. | Willis Danekas – Raymond – state represenative and farmer. |
| 1986 | Lars Herseth – Houghton – House minority leader and farmer. | Ted Thoms – Sioux Falls – county commissioner and businessman. |
| 1990 | Bob Samuelson – Faith – State senator and rancher. | Shirley Halleen – Sioux Falls – former state representative and teacher. First woman to appear on a gubernatorial ticket. |
| 1994 | Jim Beddow – Mitchell – President of Dakota Wesleyan University. | Jim Abbott – Yankton – Former state representative and businessman. |
| 1998 | Bernie Hunhoff – Yankton – Senate minority leader and owner of South Dakota Magazine. | Elsie Meeks – Interior – businesswoman and economic development official. First Native American to appear on a gubernatorial ticket. |
| 2002 | Jim Abbott – Vermillion – President of the University of South Dakota, former state representative and businessman. | Mike Wilson – Rapid City – former state representative and attorney. |
| 2006 | Jack Billion – Sioux Falls – Former state representative and orthopedic surgeon. | Eric Abrahamson – Rapid City – School board member and historian. |
| 2010 | Scott Heidepriem – Sioux Falls – Senate minority leader and attorney; he had represented Miller in the state legislature as a Republican. | Ben Arndt – Sioux Falls – Businessman. A Republican when he was selected; he changed registrations to accept the nomination. |
| 2014 | Susan Wismer – Britton – State representative and accountant. First woman nominated for governor by a major party. | Susy Blake – Sioux Falls – Former state representative and retired nurse. |
| 2018 | Billie Sutton – Burke – Senate minority leader, investment advisor and rancher. | Michelle Lavallee – Sioux Falls – marketing consultant. |
| 2022 | Jamie Smith – Sioux Falls – House minority leader, real estate agent and former teacher. | Jennifer Keintz – Eden – State representative and real estate broker. |
SoDak Governors 