Kooiker and Adelstein to Vie for Dist. 32 Senate?

It's no secret that RINO Stan Adelstein is planning a run against Democrat Tom Katus, the Democrat that Adelstein installed in the District 32 state Senate seat instead of supporting fellow Republican candidate Elli Schwiesow.

Now a Rapid City Weekly News article claims that Senator Tom Katus says he's been told that Republican Rapid City Alderman Sam Kooiker will definitely run for the Dist. 32 Senate seat.

Kooiker ran for mayor last year, and in a contest against Alan Hanks, things got dirty. Though Kooiker tried to run a clean campaign, the Hanks campaign, backed by Adelstein's finances and advice, ended up running a nasty "wingnut" mailer against Kooiker. It came out that Adelstein was behind this dirty flier.

Now Kooiker and Adelstein may go head-to-head for the Dist. 32 Senate seat.

The article indicates a coy reply from Kooiker as to whether he's running, but Kooiker also says that despite Adelstein's huge financial resources, he doesn't think Adelstein is unbeatable. Kooiker points out in the article that Adelstein has city council opposition before to no avail.

Adelstein's wealth is formidable, as his $80,000 in campaign contributions to Democrats (he claims to be a Republican) in 2006 illustrates, but I don't believe he's unbeatable either.

It could be that he's shown what a vindictive, dirty-campaigner he can be, and people might figure they don't want someone like that representing them in the South Dakota legislature. And don't forget his liberal social politics; that doesn't play too well in western South Dakota, either.

It'll be interesting to see what develops in Dist. 32 this year.