Freshman state legislator Republican Scyller Borglum will challenge US Senator Mike Rounds for his seat in 2020.
During a campaign announcement in Rapid City on Monday, Borglum says Rounds has failed to bring South Dakota conservative values to Washington DC.
State Representative Borglum says she’s been travelling across the state working on a rural education legislative package. In the process, she says she’s also heard multiple people say more women and younger people need to get involved in politics.
She says time and pressure are eroding away conservative principles. She says she supports reducing the size of government, building a wall at the southern border and rebuilding immigration policy as well as free market healthcare reform.
She says Mike Rounds squeaked into office with all the controversies surrounding him during his time as governor.
“Do not ever forget that we elect citizens, not royalty,” Borglum says. “No one is ever entitled to an elected position before the election takes place. That is the last thing a common-sense conservative should stand for. That is why I, Scyller J Borglum, am running for United States Senate.”
Earlier this year, Borglum put out a press release titled “…Republican Establishment Eating Its Young,” in which she says the Rounds campaign was working to box out Borglum financially.
“They made it very clear I was not to ask the establishment donors,” Borglum says. “In the end—if the donors want to donate, please do—but this is a grassroots campaign. I believe that the smaller donations from the broader South Dakota citizenry, that’s where we’re really going to do our fundraising. It’s going to be in the smaller amounts from the greater number of people who want to send me to Washington.”
Borglum went on to say "my team and I do not have 1.5 million dollars of lobbyist money in our bank accounts. We do not have the political mobsters backing us. You know what? Good riddance to anyone who does, because you shouldn’t need that to hold on to your elected office."
According to latest cash on hand summaries from the FEC, Rounds has just over one million dollars.
Borglum falsely stated the state GOP is losing registered voters to the independent party.
In a response statement, Rounds’ campaign spokesperson Rob Skjonsberg says the senator is one of 38 that support President Trump more than 90 percent of the time and that his conservative credentials are top two in the 2014 class.
*This story was updated July 3 at 9:24 AM.