Two contrasting cases involving allegations of abuse by Republican candidates in state senate campaigns in South Dakota illustrate the judgement calls media and caucus campaigns make in establishing the line when it comes to the privacy of the family members who were subject to the candidates' bad behavior.
South Dakota Senate candidate
The first example, that of Joel Koskan, involves criminal complaints. On Wednesday, the Dakota Scout reported in Senate candidate under investigation in child abuse probe:
A South Dakota senate candidate in Mellette County is under investigation in a child sex abuse probe, The Dakota Scout has confirmed.
Joel Koskan, 44, is set to be arraigned on charges next week, Mellette County Sheriff Mike Blom said. Blom said the case is open, and he referred questions to the clerk of courts, where a complaint is expected to be filed on Thursday. . . .
The Mitchell Republic's Hunter Dunteman fleshed the story out in SD state Senate candidate accused of repeatedly molesting family member over five years:
EDITOR’S NOTE: In cases of alleged sexual crimes, Forum News Service works to protect the identity and privacy of any alleged victims and/or witnesses in our reporting. Due to this policy, some identifying details have been intentionally left out of this story.
WHITE RIVER, S.D. — A South Dakota Senate candidate is facing felony child abuse charges in Mellette County after court documents indicate a family member said she was repeatedly groped and molested for years.
Joel Koskan, 44, of Wood, was charged Thursday, Nov. 3, with one count of exposing a minor to a foreseeable harm, a Class 4 felony, after Assistant Attorney General Mandy Miiller reviewed a months-long investigation by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.
According to a five-page probable cause document....
On Thursday, Cory Allan Heidelberger amped it up on Dakota Free Press with Koskan Accused of Raping Daughter for Years:
The South Dakota Republican spin blog’s first reaction to the news that Republican District 26 Senate candidate Joel Koskan is facing charges of child sex abuse was, “There are no words at the moment.”
Having read the probable cause statement from South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation Brandon Neitzert supporting charges of rape, sexual contact with a child under sixteen, and aggravated incest, I find there are plenty of words, the first of which are, “Joel, you pervert. How could you? She’s your daughter.” . . .
That lede is followed by the now-sealed five page Probable Cause Statement (an affidavit from a Division of Criminal Investigation agent) embedded in the post, and a timeline explicating the horrific experience of the adopted daughter. The daughter is now 19 years old. Heidelberger closes with a consideration of Koskan's betrayal of his party:
Joel Koskan’s daughter is accusing him of rape and incest. DCI and the Attorney General’s office find the accusations sufficiently credible to file felony charges.
Koskan’s betrayal of his moral obligation as a father is supremely abominable. His betrayal of the family values he spouted to win votes is rank hypocrisy.
But toward the bottom of this ugly story, we should also note that Koskan betrayed his own party. He knew on May 6 that his daughter was going to report him for rape and incest (not to mention sleazy, creepy, controlling behavior). Koskan had three months when he could have withdrawn his name from the ballot, when he could have given his party leaders a chance to name a replacement candidate. Koskan would have spared his party the grief of having a scandal like this blow up a candidate and the R label he carries.
Koskan knew this stuff was going to hit the fan. He could have spared his party the splattering. But hey: if a guy lacks the basic sense to not screw his daughter, we shouldn’t expect him to show the unselfish sense to withdraw his name from a ballot and let someone a little cleaner carry the party banner.
Dakota Free Press put the identity of the now-adult victim in the public realm. There's a lively debate about the appropriateness of his action in the blog's comments.
The Argus Leader published the South Dakota Democratic Party's statement here:
The South Dakota Democratic Party is calling for Koskan to end his campaign.
“These allegations concerning Joel Koskan are deeply disturbing, and he should immediately end his campaign," South Dakota Democratic Party Chair Randy Seiler said in the statement. "While he will still appear on the ballot, the choice for the voters of District 26 couldn’t be clearer. Partisan politics aside, Joel Koskan should not be voting in the legislature on issues that affect South Dakota kids — or any issues at all.”
Koskan lost twice to Heinert before, once in the 2020 election and the other in the 2018 election. Koskan's father, John Koskan, served 16 years in the state legislature.
As of Thursday afternoon, Koskan's campaign website was taken down and his Twitter account deactivated.
While the Republican response to the charges were at first muted, by the week's end Lee Strubinger reported for SDPB in Top Republicans call Koskan allegations 'horrific':
Top South Dakota Republicans are calling the allegations against a state senate candidate “serious” and “horrific.”
Republican candidate Joel Koskan is charged with one count of exposing a minor to sexual grooming behaviors. It’s a class four felony.
A probable cause statement written by the Division of Criminal Investigation details Koskan committed years of child sexual abuse and surveillance.
"The South Dakota Republican Party unequivocally opposes child abuse in all forms," said Dan Lederman, SDGOP chair. "The South Dakota Republican Party trusts the justice system to work through the allegation.”
Gov. Kristi Noem called the allegations "horrific" and said they must be thoroughly investigated.
“If true, he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Noem said in a statement.
Koskan is running for office in District 26, which includes Chamberlain and the Rosebud Reservation. State Democrats are calling on Koskan to end his campaign
The Democratic incumbent? The Associated Press reported in South Dakota GOP legislative candidate charged with abuse:
. . . Koskan is running in a state Senate district that includes parts of the Rosebud, Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservations. His opponent is Democrat Shawn Bordeaux, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe who has served three terms in the state House.
The story has legs. On Saturday, Fox News reported South Dakota GOP state Senate hopeful charged with child abuse after allegedly grooming, raping family member and in People, Republican State Senate Candidate Accused of Raping Young Family Member.
Bluestem has no sympathy for this fellow.
Meanwhile in Minnesota
There's another story playing out in Minnesota, though the allegation against the candidate Dan Boemer is much less serious--and the name of a a minor family member in a divorce document wasbroadcast by a DFL caucus ad.
Boemer's adult children from his first marriage are condemning the use of their younger brother's name (his second marriage was without issue).
At the Fargo Forum, April Baumgardner reports in Opponents in Moorhead legislative race both say attack ad was over the line:
A political ad accuses Republican legislative candidate Dan Bohmer of domestic abuse, and now his Democratic opponent, Rob Kupec, is saying the ad goes too far in mentioning one of Bohmer's children.
The television ad that began airing this week displayed court documents from Bohmer’s 2021 divorce. Paid for by the DFL Senate Caucus in Minnesota, the ad mentioned multiple calls to police, as well as alleged harassment, bullying and angry outbursts by Bohmer, a former Moorhead city councilor and retired Army colonel.
More specifically, the ad claimed Bohmer recorded his child showering, made his then-wife drive herself to a doctor when she had a miscarriage, and called her “stupid” and a “parasite."
In a statement, Bohmer said the ad was filled with half-truths and unsubstantiated lies. . . .
Bohmer's ex-wife, a federal employee, declined to comment for this story, citing the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from speaking about politics.
Bohmer and Kupec are vying to replace state Sen. Kent Eken, D-Audubon. Eken announced in April that he would not seek reelection. Now Bohmer and Kupec are battling to represent legislative District 4, which includes Moorhead, Detroit Lakes and surrounding areas.
Bohmer's divorce was finalized in November 2021, though several filings on child custody continued to be filed into September of this year in Clay County District Court. The parents were given joint custody, and Judge Michelle Lawson ordered Bohmer to pay child support to his ex-wife.
Bohmer's campaign sent The Forum a Moorhead police report that said the shower incident had no criminal elements. The Forum was unable to verify the report with law enforcement.
Bohmer has not faced any criminal charges in connection to the allegations detailed in the ad.
Bohmer called on Kupec, a former KVRR meteorologist, to disavow the attack ad. The Republican's children also wrote a paid political letter, set to run in Saturday's Forum, that showed support for their father and called for the ad to be taken down.
Kupec issued a statement Wednesday, Nov. 2, saying that in the past few months, he learned of the allegations made against Bohmer in the divorce proceedings, but chose not to go to news outlets with the information.
Kupec said the DFL Senate Caucus ran the ad without his knowledge. He condemned the use of children for political gain.
“But it is important to remember that Dan Bohmer is not the victim here,” Kupec said in his statement. “Based on numerous accounts from others, the information in the ad cannot simply be chalked up as the result of an unfortunate, but messy divorce. We must support survivors of domestic violence.”
Rachel Aplikowski, a representative for Bohmer’s campaign, called Kupec’s statement "just more rumors and innuendo.”
“This disinformation is harmful to the Bohmer family and the public discourse,” Aplikowski said in a statement. “Dan is focused on running a positive campaign about the issues voters care most about." . . .
Those who run for public office should expect scrutiny and be held to a high standard of personal and professional behavior, DFL Senate Caucus spokeswoman Megan Hondl said in a statement to The Forum.
"Allegations of domestic abuse should be taken seriously, and voters have the right to know," Hondl said. "Dan Bohmer's abusive behavior is the central issue and it is up to voters to decide whether it is important for them to know."
Bluestem reserves judgment on that. Regardless, the name of a minor child should not have been in the ad, though the names and ages of Boemer's three youngest sons are public in the Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) database.
Meanwhile, KFGO reported on Thursday, Police called after dispute between MN state senate candidate, ex-wife, which allowed Boemer another poor baby moment:
Moorhead Police were called after a dispute between Republican State Senate candidate Dan Bohmer and his ex-wife.
A police report obtained by KFGO News through an open records request shows that police responded to a south Moorhead home last night during a child exchange between Bohmer and his ex-wife, Kate. The report says officers were on the scene for nearly 40 minutes with Dan Bohmer recording the events.
There were no arrests.
Bohmer, a former Moorhead City Council member, is a Republican who faces a challenge from Democrat Rob Kupec, a former Fargo television meteorologist. The race took a nasty turn when the Senate DFL Caucus placed media buys highlighting details of Bohmer’s divorce.
“The Bohmer campaign is disappointed there is a story about this minor dispute between a child and their mother, in which no charges were filed,” Daniel Bohmer said in an email. “We have no further comment."
Given the alleged crimes of Koskan here in South Dakota, the dispute in the Moorhead area almost--almost--makes us homesick for Minnesota.
And while the identity of minor children should be protected as much as possible, an adult candidate's alleged behavior is certainly open for scrutiny.
As for the Minnesota Republican pearl clutching about accusations of abusive behavior that didn't result in criminal charges, we're reminded of the accusations--that still surface--from the Ellison-Wardlow contest for Minnesota Attorney in 2018.
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