Ahlers makes bid for U.S. Senate against Mike Rounds

It’s been twelve years since South Dakota elected a Democrat for the United States Senate.

Dan Ahlers is hoping to change that in November. Ahlers is attempting to win the Senate seat in a conservative state that hasn’t elected a Democratic Senator since 2008 when Tim Johnson defeated Joel Dykstra.

But when it comes to electability, don’t tell the Dell Rapids businessman that he doesn’t have more than a decent shot of defeating incumbent Mike Rounds.

Ahlers is a three-time South Dakota legislator representing District 25, one of the more conservative districts in the state. But despite that disadvantage of campaigning in a gerrymandered district that covers northern Minnehaha County and wraps Sioux Falls metro to include the wealthy southern portion of the city, Ahlers found success. He’s the only Democrat to win in that district in the last 10 years.

His approach to winning in that district was a simple one, and it’s what he said he’s banking on in November to unseat Rounds.

“I just went out and met people and talked to them. That’s how I got elected three times in a district where I shouldn’t have been able to win,” he said. “You have to make yourself available, and what it really comes down to is customer service. Making sure people are heard – no matter if they’re mad at me – or if they just need help. That’s important.”

Ahlers owned three Video Plus locations in Dell Rapids, Hartford and Tea. He’s been a community leader in southeastern South Dakota ever since graduating from Augustana University in 1997 with a degree in Government International Relations, serving on the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce, the Hartford Development Corporation, the Dell Rapids Community Fund and the Dell Rapids Haven program.

He said one thing that has served him well, both as a business owner and as a state representative, is accessibility to his customers. He was known as one of the few representatives in Pierre to list his cell phone number on the state’s website. Should he win in November and head to Washington, that policy won’t change.

“My cell number is already out there, and it’s not like it’s going to change,” he said with a chuckle. “After I was elected, I always made sure that I showed up to as many coffees as I could, answered every question I could and answered every email that I possibly could.”

It’s a policy he said that will trickle down to his staff in Washington. Even though his constituent list would grow if he defeats Rounds, things won’t change when it comes to communication with those he serves.

“I can guarantee you that everyone who works for me will know that the first time I don’t get a message that I should get, there’s going to be a problem. You have to have those interactions, good and bad,” he said. “I’ve been able to help a lot of people over the years.”

Ahlers said he’s the first to admit that running as a Democrat in such a conservative state brings certain challenges. But, he said, it’s working for the public that makes it worthwhile.

He said working in the state legislature was a natural extension after being a small business owner and community leader. “Ever since I was a kid, I heard people voice their frustrations about how the government isn’t working for them and people aren’t listening to them. I want people to believe in their government,” he said. “When you hear people being really negative about the people in Washington and they feel they aren’t being represented, it’s a call-to-action for those of us that enjoy serving.”

In early 2019, Ahlers said he hadn’t given the U.S. Senate run a lot of thought. But the recent unrest in Washington bothered him, and he said “enough is enough.”

But even though the current climate in Washington is a volatile one, Ahlers said it’s the main reason he chose to run. “I’m so tired of the partisanship. It’s us vs. them. It’s either this way or that way. Life isn’t like that. We have to be able to look at things from multiple perspectives and different angles to get a full picture of what is going on around us,” he said. “I can guarantee people aren’t going to agree on everything, but if we’re having a conversation, we’re going to learn what we have in common. That’s how we move things forward.”

Ahlers said many of his friends in the state legislature were Republicans. There were many bills, he said, in Pierre that needed bi-partisanship in order to pass. He said he’s proud of his work with colleagues across the aisle.

“People who say that working together and across the aisle doesn’t work, certainly don’t know me very well,” Ahlers said. “They don’t know how hard I’m willing to go to work. Talk to anyone I’ve worked with in the legislature or within the community, they will tell you that once I’m committed to something, I give it everything.”

He points to the Affordable Care Act, which was passed in 2010, as a prime example of Washington not communicating and working together. That act was passed by one party, and over the past 10 years, the other party has been slowly picking at it, slowly trying to dismantle everything that was done.

“You won’t ever have lasting change unless we can do it together,” he said. “In the past 10 years of the Affordable Care Act, those two sides haven’t been able to come together to find a solution. That’s reckless and irresponsible.”

Not only is Ahlers relying on his work ethic and background to help him for a potential win in November, he’s also quick to point out flaws in his opponent.

Ahlers said a $127 million South Dakota structural budget deficit when Rounds was governor still has him troubled. That deficit led to cuts in services to health care facilities and education. He also points to two financial scandals in Pierre that cost state taxpayers millions of dollars, and a federal deficit that continues to balloon when Rounds promised fiscal responsibility.

“If Mike Rounds had to run on his record and didn’t have an ‘R’ behind his name, would you vote for him,” he said.

 

(Tom Savage is a freelance writer and Magazine Editor. His work has appeared in national media outlets from coast-to-coast)

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