Jason Gant wins three-way contest

Sioux Falls legislator pledges transparency in campaign finances

SARAH REINECKE • SREINECKE@ARGUSLEADER.COM • NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Republican Sen. Jason Gant was elected Tuesday as secretary of state.

Gant defeated state Sen. Ben Nesselhuf, D-Vermillion, and Lori Stacey of the Constitution Party.

Gant, 33, will succeed Chris Nelson, who could not run for re-election because of term limits.

Gant attributes the win to his hard work, and visiting every county in the state.

"We always made it a family adventure," he said. "It's a wonderful win tonight. We campaigned on the issues of making sure our elections were safe and secure. And South Dakotans definitely agreed."

Gant said he plans to be proactive in making it easier for people to vote and register to vote. He promised to make sure ballots are counted and completed legally and run elections efficiently.

As secretary of state, Gant plans to make campaign finance records more transparent and make it easier for the public to search online to find who contributed to a campaign, how much money was donated, and how that money was spent.

Gant has served as a state senator since 2005, and serves on the commerce, health and human service and government committees. He also owns a health care consulting business.

Lucas Lentsch, executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party, said Gant's experience in the state Senate will serve him well.

"He's going to be an excellent advocate for South Dakota free and fair elections," Lentsch said. "Jason Gant knew the issues he was running on and stuck firm on those issues. That resonated with the voters of South Dakota."

Nesselhuf, 35, called it a tough year for Democrats. He said he has no immediate plans, and he didn't ever think of the possibility of not winning.

"We ran a race that I'm so proud of, we worked so hard across the board," Nesselhuf said. "We maybe picked the worst year in my adult life to run as a Democrat."

Gant lives in Sioux Falls with his wife Chris and three children - Abbi, Sophie and Mallory. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Nesselhuf served as a state representative from 2001 to 2004 and as a state senator from 2005 to the present.

Stacey, 46, could not be reached for comment. She had hoped, if elected, to return to hand-counting paper ballots and make it easier for third-party candidates to appear on the ballot.

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