A joint commitment from South Dakota legislative candidates
We represent a group of legislative candidates committed to listening to our fellow South Dakotans, and they’ve sent a clear message: South Dakota doesn’t want data centers. We intend to act on that message. Every legislative candidate signed below is committing to this series of promises:
What we’re pledging:
1. Day Zero Commitment: Before the first day of the 2027 legislative session, and continuing throughout the session, we will work with new and incumbent legislators to draft bills to protect everyday South Dakotans from data center costs, unfair utility burdens, and environmental harms caused by data centers.
2. Keep the money out: We soundly reject any financial interests that would promote development of data centers in South Dakota. We affirm that we have not taken, and will never take, any political contributions from individuals or organizations putting data centers over the interests and concerns of the people of South Dakota. Furthermore, we will not support any policies in favor of taxpayer money being used for data center construction, particularly in the form of tax incentives.
3. Promote transparency: We will work as a team to clearly communicate when legislators in Pierre are taking action on data centers. These communications may include press releases, social media and website updates, and other means of clearly explaining what’s being voted on during the legislative session.
4. Defend local control: We will oppose any effort to weaken or repeal local governments’ authority to regulate, pause, or ban data center development in their own communities. This is the authority South Dakota communities like Yankton are already using.
Why now:
Last session, a one-year statewide moratorium bill (HB 1301) did not reach the legislative floor. We think South Dakotans deserve legislators willing to keep bringing this fight back, in public, on the record until the people are fully protected.
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D-CAP Signers:
Amanda Potter, Candidate, HD-9 (Sioux Falls/Hartford)
Jeff Shelton, Candidate, SD-32 (Rapid in City)
Aaron Matson, Candidate, SD-11 (Sioux Falls)
Ali Rae Horsted, Candidate HD-13 (Sioux Falls)
Sonja Mentzer, Candidate HD-11 (Sioux Falls)
Erin Ronayne Rudner, Candidate HD-3 (Aberdeen)
Tim Rhead, Candidate HD-16 (Canton)
Erinn Williams, Candidate HD-14 (Sioux Falls)
Joe Zweifel, Candidate SD-12 (Sioux Falls)
Leslie Gerrish, Candidate HD-17 (Clay County and Union County)
Karen Springer, Candidate HD-18 (Yankton County and Wakonda)
Austin Brunick, Candidate HD-17 (Union and Clay County)
Austin Wolf, Candidate HD-6 (Lincoln County)
Emelia Enquist, Candidate HD-4 (Clark, rural Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, and Roberts Counties)
Heidi Hora, Candidate HD-19 (Bon Homme, Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook, Turner Counties)
Morgan Plucker, Candidate HD-31 (Lawrence County)
Kathleen Brudvig, Candidate HD-10 (Sioux Falls)
Celestine Stadnick, Candidate SD-27 (Oglala Lakota, Bennett, Jackson, Pennington Counties)
Lewis GrassRope, Candidate HD-26B (Brule, Lyman, Hughes, Hyde, Jones, Buffalo Counties)
Stephanie Arne, Candidate HD-12 (Lincoln and Minnehaha Counties)
June CopperStad, District 15 (Sioux Falls)