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Carbon pipeline opponent elected chair of South Dakota GOP

Jim Eschenbaum speaks on Referred Law 21 during the Vote South Dakota Forum in September of 2024.
SDPB
Jim Eschenbaum speaks on Referred Law 21 during the Vote South Dakota Forum in September of 2024.

A leader in the anti-carbon pipeline movement is taking the helm of the South Dakota Republican Party.

GOP county leadership elected Jim Eschenbaum as state party chair in a Central Committee meeting over the weekend. He replaces outgoing leader John Wiik.

Eschenbaum is a Hand County Commissioner who has been outspoken against Summit Carbon Solution’s proposed carbon pipeline. He was a leader in the Referred Law 21 movement, overturning a pipeline regulation law passed last session in the November election.

Republican party activist Janet Jensen was elected vice-chair.