The South Dakota Democratic Party is working for a South Dakota where there is opportunity and progress for all people – a place where all South Dakotans are treated with dignity and have a chance to go as far as their talents and ambitions will take them. To make this vision a reality, we are working to empower, organize, and elect Democrats at every level in every corner of our state.

Opportunity

Democrats are working for a South Dakota with a strong middle class, where everyone has the opportunity to succeed and have a high quality of life. This means supporting things like:

• living wages and appropriate benefits like paid sick and family leave for working families
• access to quality, affordable healthcare for everyone who needs it, which includes expanding Medicaid, addressing the healthcare crisis in our tribal communities, and addressing the alarming number of nursing homes closing in our state
• a world-class education for our young people – including early childhood education and affordable post-secondary education for our young adults, and
• Expanding economic and workforce development in our state.
• Preserving our natural resources so they may be enjoyed not only by the current residents of our state, but by future generations.
• Protecting our state’s number one industry of agriculture by expanding international markets, promoting trade, protecting soil health, and seeking industry that bolsters rural communities through precision and value-added agriculture.

Liberty

Democrats are working for a South Dakota where everyone can enjoy the liberty and freedoms granted to them by the constitutions of the United States and the state of South Dakota. We also seek to ensure that all South Dakotans can enjoy the Four Essential Human Freedoms listed by President Franklin Roosevelt. These freedoms include:

• The freedom to worship as they choose, including the freedom to not worship at all.
• The freedom of speech and expression, including:
  • The freedom to criticize and hold accountable local, state, and federal government.
  • The freedom to criticize and hold accountable private businesses who misuse taxpayer resources.
• The freedom from want, meaning that every South Dakotan should have economic security.
• The freedom from fear, meaning that every South Dakotan should feel safe, and have personal and physical security.

Other important freedoms we believe all South Dakotans should enjoy include:

• The freedom of personal privacy in matters such as our personal relationships and healthcare decisions.
• The freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, economic circumstance, disability, or sexual orientation. 

Justice

Democrats are working for a South Dakota where the rights of all are respected, and there is equal protection under the law for everyone. That means: 

• Ensuring that our elections are secure and no one who is eligible is denied the right to vote
• Ensuring that our state government is open, transparent, and accountable, and that it listens to the voice of every citizen
• Working so that our criminal justice system is truly just
• Ensuring that workers have the right to organize
• Opposing any legislation or laws that discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, economic circumstances, disability, and sexual orientation
• Working for reconciliation and stronger bonds of friendship and cooperation between tribal and state governments and native and non-native people. This begins with the acknowledgement that we live on the ancestral lands of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people.

For ALL

We are fighting for a South Dakota where the blessings of our state are enjoyed by all our citizens, regardless of where you are from, who you love, how you worship or do not worship, what your gender identity is, what the color of your skin is, your physical ability, how much money you have in the bank, or what your last name is. We are working for a South Dakota that works for everyone – not just the privileged and powerful few.