Jaime Harrison, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks to attendees at a South Dakota Democratic Party fundraiser on Sept. 27, 2025, in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
RAPID CITY — After South Dakota Democrats heard appeals to organize, recruit and raise money, the keynote speaker at their Saturday night fundraiser urged them to do something else: hope.
Jaime Harrison, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told a story from his earlier job as floor director for the U.S. House Democratic Caucus. He recalled how a woman who was cleaning his Capitol office picked up a picture frame, recognized his mother in the photo, and said she went to high school with his mom and remembered when she dropped out of high school to give birth.
Harrison said the encounter brought them both to tears.
“And she came over and she hugged me and she said, ‘I would have never guessed that Patricia Harrison’s son would be right here. You give me hope.’”
Election 2026
News and commentary on statewide races and ballot questions.
Harrison said the story is a reminder that success is possible “no matter where you start.”
South Dakota Democrats are starting the 2026 campaign season with nobody in a statewide elected office. They had nine of the Legislature’s 105 members until earlier this month, when one of their members defected to the Republican Party and left them with eight.
One of those eight, Rapid City Rep. Nicole Uhre-Balk, told the crowd Saturday night that “I cannot begin to tell you how good it feels to be in a room of more than seven Democrats.”
There were actually about 200 Democrats gathered in the DoubleTree hotel ballroom for the party’s annual western South Dakota fundraiser, which featured socializing, speeches and auctions benefitting the state party.
Harrison was the headliner. He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2021 until earlier this year. Previously, he served as the first Black chairperson of the South Carolina Democratic Party and worked as an aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. Harrison also founded the Dirt Road Democrats political action committee, which works to engage rural voters, and he hosts a podcast called “At Our Table” that features conversations with guests about the nation’s challenges and hopes.
In his Saturday night speech, Harrison highlighted Uhre-Balk’s success. Last year, she became the first Democrat in 18 years to win a seat in her legislative district. According to her, if she wins again, she’ll be the first Democrat in 30 years to win two consecutive races in the district.
A crowd of about 200 attends a South Dakota Democratic Party fundraiser on Sept. 27, 2025, in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
Harrison said the party needs more candidates to follow her lead and ignore the naysayers.
“She didn’t listen to them,” Harrison said. “She listened to all of you, and she stood up and she spoke out and she won.”
The prescription for more results like that, according to Harrison, includes a focus on recruitment.
“Do not leave any seat in South Dakota uncontested in 2026,” he said. “Not one.”
Democrats have a start toward that goal with declared candidates for offices including U.S. Senate, U.S. House and secretary of state. But their only declared candidate for governor so far is a 20-year-old college student, and they face a challenge recruiting candidates in legislative districts that lacked Democrats on the ballot last year.
Fundraising, meanwhile, has been a bright spot. The state party’s reports to the Federal Election Commission showed $341,000 of income from January through August. A July fundraiser in eastern South Dakota featuring Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz drew a crowd of about 1,000 people.
The same period’s reports from the South Dakota Republican Party, which has undergone staff turnover including a new chairman in February, showed $41,000 of income.
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