Late this morning, we posted Eligibility questioned, Logan Manhart withdraws from South Dakota District 1 House race.
Since then, the story has become real news.
An Associated Press article, South Dakota House candidate withdraws from District 1 House race after residency questioned, has been widely published, including this version at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Republican SD House candidate Logan Manhart withdraws from race:
A Republican candidate for the South Dakota House announced Wednesday he is withdrawing his candidacy amid a challenge from his Democratic rival over his eligibility for the race.
Logan Manhart of Bath, who was running as a Republican for a District 1 House seat, said in a statement released on Twitter and Facebook that he had received legal advice and “at the end of the day I must abide by all rules and laws that have been set forth for this position.”
Earlier:Complaint alleges Aberdeen-area Republican Logan Manhart skirted eligibility rules
Former Democratic state lawmaker Steve McCleerey of Sisseton, who is running for a District 1 House seat in November, had filed a civil complaint against Manhart alleging he had lived in Wisconsin as recently as 2021 and was ineligible to hold the office because state law requires legislative candidates to have lived in South Dakota for two years.
“He was clearly legally ineligible, as defined in the South Dakota Constitution, to seek this seat,” South Dakota Democratic Party chair Randy Seiler said in a statement.
The District 1 race, which will decide two House seats, now pits a pair of Democrats, McCleerey and Rep. Jennifer Healy Keintz, against Republican Rep. Tamara St. John.
As we pointed out in this morning's post, those who know more about South Dakota elections tell us that because Manhart withdrew just after the primary, Republican leadership could possibly replace him with another candidate for November's ballot.
Via a tweet, we discovered the South Dakota Democratic Party's Statement on Logan Manhart’s Withdrawal from District 1 Race:
Sioux Falls – In May, the South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) and candidate Steven McCleerey applied for a Writ of Prohibition filed in 6th Judicial Court to prevent the certification of Logan Manhart as a candidate for the South Dakota House of Representatives. Today, Manhart has announced his withdrawal from the race.
SDDP Chair Randy Seiler issued the following statement:
“I am glad to see that Logan Manhart did the legal and ethical thing and withdrew from the District 1 House of Representatives race. He was clearly legally ineligible, as defined in the South Dakota Constitution, to seek this seat. This is the right outcome for our democratic process and ensures everyone plays by the same rules, no matter their party affiliation. Thank you to our lawyer Matthew Tysdal whose excellent work made this possible.”
Earlier, we'd shared McCleerey's statement that we'd obtained in a phone interview:
Logan Manhart did the right thing. There's been negative publicity about the race and his decision will help restore public trust in South Dakota's elections. I also want to thank everyone who supported my efforts to preserve the integrity of our elections.
As we've always noted in our coverage, Cory Allen Heidelberger first broke the news of Manhart's sketchy filing back on MAy 5. Today he tweeted:
This South Dakota Republican claimed to live in SD since Nov 2020 but voted in Wisconsin in April 2021. Either he’s ineligible to run for Legislature in SD or he illegally voted in WI.
— CAHeidelberger (@coralhei) June 8, 2022
Today, a month after I published the evidence, he finally withdrew his candidacy for #sdleg. https://t.co/CnsGv4IMfQ
Please reward Heidelberger's hard work:
…and help me beat more lawbreaking Republicans: Support Dakota Free Press today! https://t.co/SRPrAz0zXy
— CAHeidelberger (@coralhei) June 8, 2022
Without Heidelberger's digging, Manhart might have been elected in November.
Photo: Manhart in DC on January 6, 2021. Screengrab of photo montage via Manhart's Twitter account. Given that he himelf was registered to vote in two different states at the same time, we certainly can understand why he needed to travel to Washington to own the libs about election integrity.
Related posts:
- Eligibility questioned, Logan Manhart withdraws from South Dakota District 1 House race
- Dakota Free Press post: Manhart voted in Wisconsin in 2021, thus ineligible to run for South Dakota House in 2022
- Manhart candidate integrity questioned: docs from 32CIV22-92; McCleerey vs Barnett
- In SD District One, GOP candidate & operative doesn't want to talk to press about January 6
- Media scrutiny of SD District 1 House Logan Manhart candidate integrity questions continue
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