BROOKINGS — In a three-way primary contest among Republicans to decide which two would advance to the November general election, incumbents Roger DeGroot and Mellissa Heermann emerged victorious over newcomer Dennis Willert.
Heermann just edged out DeGroot as the top vote-getter with 1,683 votes to DeGroot’s 1,678 votes. Willert pulled in a total of 1,001 votes, according to information from the Brookings County Finance Office, which oversees elections in the county.
“I just want to thank the good people of Brookings for supporting myself, and I’d like to support my opponents for running a real clean campaign — there were no dirty tricks, there was no negativism like in the governor’s race. It was really good,” DeGroot told The Brookings Register. “I was really honored by the people and their support of me and my endeavors.”
Heermann, too, expressed her gratitude.
“I’m just very grateful that so many people came out to vote — it’s a very important vote for a lot of different reasons,” she said.
Both will join Democrat Blake Stevens in the Nov. 3 general election to contend for District 7’s two seats in the South Dakota House.
With the primary now decided, DeGroot talked about changes to the state’s political landscape and, if he’s re-elected, what his priorities will be.
The landscape is so different out there right now because we’re going to have, I think, somewhere around 30-plus new House members, we might have a new governor, we’re going to have to build relationships,” he said. “Hopefully, if we win in November, then we can get out to Pierre in next January, February and part of March.”
That’s where the hard work will start. “We’re going to have to try to find some money so we can give some raises to the teachers and the state workers and the health workers of South Dakota,” DeGroot explained. “As you know, without a growing economy, that’s going to be a tough thing to do.”
Heermann also chimed in on what the future holds following her primary win.
“It’s nice being able to secure that spot in the primary and move forward into the general election in November,” she said. “It’s very exciting because I want to be able to continue that work.”
“That work” includes moving forward legislation to protect vulnerable populations.
“I’m working with the (state) Department of Health, and so I already have some things cooking for the next (legislative) session,” Heermann said.
Other priorities include legislation to protect people “from being scammed and losing their hard-earned dollars to fraud.”
Running a campaign is no easy task, and while Heermann might take a short break, she doesn’t intend to miss a beat once she’s back on the trail.
“I’m looking forward to the election in November — I’m also looking forward to taking maybe a month off,” Heermann said, laughing at the last part. “I’m looking forward to the discussions and the forums and being able to continue to talk to constituents.”
She noticed some patterns while spreading word of her re-election campaign during primary season.
“Some of the finest parts of campaigning are the one-on-one conversations and group conversations with people that live in the district,” Heermann said. “It’s really kind of affirming to what District 7 cares about as you go door-to-door and you talk to people. Also, just kind of an outpouring of gratitude this time around for the support of public education and protections for the elderly and vulnerable.”
In closing, DeGroot praised Heermann and voters alike.
“It was just fun. I just want to thank my district mate, Mellissa Heermann. We ran a campaign together pretty much — we were tied after at least two precincts. At the end she was five votes in front of me,” he said. “We were at a watch party together, and the whole group was just enjoying — the whole night we had a great time. It was very enjoyable and, like I said, we thank the folks of Brookings and the surrounding area supporting both of us.”
Voting breakdown
With 10 voting centers in all, Brookings County had a total of 4,362 votes in the District 7 GOP primary state House race. A vote center-by-vote center breakdown follows, with the totals according to the South Dakota secretary of state’s website.
Absentee
• DeGroot: 625
• Willert: 313
• Heermann: 600
Aurora Impact Church
• DeGroot: 55
• Willert: 48
• Heermann: 59
Bethel Baptist Church Area 1
• DeGroot: 254
• Willert: 146
• Heermann: 266
Bethel Baptist Church Area 2
• DeGroot: 190
• Willert: 141
• Heermann: 211
Brookings Activity Center
• DeGroot: 294
• Willert: 206
• Heermann: 280
Bruce Community Club
• DeGroot: 5
• Willert: 4
• Heermann: 7
Elkton Community Center
• DeGroot: 3
• Willert: 2
• Heermann: 2
Holy Life Tabernacle
• DeGroot: 239
• Willert: 128
• Heermann: 239
Volga Community Center
• DeGroot: 11
• Willert: 12
• Heermann: 16
White McKnight Hall
• DeGroot: 2
• Willert: 1
• Heermann: 3
— Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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