SD: Medical Cannabis Advocate, Former Police Officer Enters U.S. House Race

Ron Strider

Well-Known Member
George Hendrickson hopes he can accomplish a goal that has eluded independent statewide candidates in South Dakota: winning.

The 46-year-old former police officer and medical cannabis advocate from Sioux Falls is set to announce Sunday that he will run for U.S. House. And he's hopeful that his conservative platform and promise not to accept money from political action committees will set him apart.

"South Dakota Republicans are always afraid of voting for the independent because it could help elect the Democrat," he told Argus Leader Media. "But that could be different in this election because every single person I've talked to, they are so mad at the establishment, Democrat and Republican alike, that they are dying for a real choice."

Hendrickson is the fifth candidate to enter the 2018 House race and the first independent. And he said he hopes to provide a unique option for voters.

The lifelong Republican who left the GOP after he became fed up with perceived corporate influence said he'll work to reform medical marijuana policy at the federal level, push for welfare program reform and consolidate federal agencies.

Along the way, he plans to listen to South Dakota voters while ignoring political action committees or PACs.

"I'm not going to take a dime from them. I won't accept PAC money," he said.

While the number of independent and unaffiliated voters in the state has grown steadily in recent years, the 124,260 recorded earlier this month wouldn't be enough to give Hendrickson an edge against whomever emerges from the Republican primary.

The South Dakota GOP boasts more than double the number of registered voters that identified as independent or unaffiliated.

And while Hendrickson maintains hope that he could shepherd Republicans toward his campaign, election history shows that independents who've tried it have come up with little success.

Former South Dakota Congressman Larry Pressler succeeded in winning his U.S. House seat, then Senate seat as a Republican, but his efforts to return to Washington as an independent after 17 years out of office proved unsuccessful.

Pressler pulled 17 percent of the vote in the 2014 U.S. Senate race against Republican Mike Rounds, Democrat Rick Weiland and independent Gordon Howie.

Without a party affiliation, Hendrickson will also have to navigate the next year and a half without political party support structures from which his adversaries will benefit.

But some early Hendrickson backers said they were glad the candidate didn't have ties to political parties or other organizations.

Mike Carson, 40, said he was glad to see a candidate vow not to take money from political action committees.

"I really respect the fact he's not going after corporate money to back his campaign," Carson said. "He's a voice for us middle class people that really feel like we don't have a voice."

Hendrickson acknowledged that his political experience was limited, with the bulk consisting of advocacy work for his son and other with disabilities.

His son Eliyah, 4, suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that triggers severe seizures. And for the past two years, his parents George and Kristin Hendrickson have advocated for medical cannabis policy reform in Pierre.

Hendrickson joked last week that Eliyah was the one who convinced him to run for elected office.

"It's his fault," he said. "It's his courage and his strength that's giving me the courage to even try this."

During his time advocating for looser medical marijuana laws in the state and in interacting with the state's congressional delegation, Hendrickson said he became convinced he needed to throw his hat in the ring to be a more responsive representative for South Dakotans.

Hendrickson will face Republicans Shantel Krebs and Dusty Johnson and Democrats Chris Martian and Tim Bjorkman in the 2018 contest. The winner is set to fill the state's lone U.S. House seat, which Rep. Kristi Noem will leave as she makes a bid for South Dakota governor.

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News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical cannabis advocate, former police officer enters U.S. House race
Author: Dana Ferguson
Contact: Customer Service | Sioux Falls Argus-Leader
Photo Credit: Dana Ferguson
Website: Argus Leader, argusleader.com
 
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