Gov. Kristi Noem‘s (R-SD) campaign is accusing her Democratic opponent of violating campaign finance laws in a filing ahead of the November general election.
Campaign finance reports released Monday showed Noem raised $3.1 million from people, political action committees, and political parties, while her state representative challenger Jamie Smith accepted around $595,000 from people. Smith’s campaign, however, committed “33 pages of campaign finance violations” in its filing, a spokesman for Noem alleged Monday.
Smith’s filing did not include the addresses for over 1,000 contributors of over $100 in a supporting document, according to a Washington Examiner review. South Dakota requires candidates to disclose the “mailing address, city, and state of each person making a contribution of more than one hundred dollars,” according to state law.
KRISTI NOEM CHOSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE NATIVE AMERICA DAY INSTEAD OF COLUMBUS DAY
“There is not a single itemized contribution in his filing that complies with the most basic requirements of the law,” Ian Fury, spokesman for Noem, said in a statement Monday. “How can we trust him to follow the laws of our state and faithfully execute the duties of Governor? We are calling for an immediate investigation into these violations.”
South Dakota law also holds that “if any information required by the section is unknown to the political committee, the political committee may not deposit the contribution.”
“It seems that Jamie Smith’s campaign illegally deposited more than half-a-million dollars in contributions,” Fury also said.
Smith’s campaign told the Argus Leader on Monday that “any clerical errors” with the report will be “addressed immediately.”
A poll released on Oct. 11 found Noem had a mere 4 percentage point lead over Smith, which is roughly the margin the Republican won over Democratic candidate Billie Sutton in 2018. There were 565 registered South Dakota voters surveyed.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Still, FiveThirtyEight’s elections model holds that Noem will win the gubernatorial race 99 in 100 times and is “very likely” to do so.
Smith’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
