Why can't we all just get along? Because it's an election, dammit. *UPDATED*

Kevin Woster writes in the Rapid City Journal that The District 33 Senate Primary is getting contentious. As if they should somehow be special.

“Why do we have to run negative campaigns?” Duniphan said Wednesday. “When Dennis and I met before the campaign, he said he was going to run a positive campaign. And it’s apparent that isn’t the case.”

Duniphan said Schmidt’s campaign advertisements are distorting her record on key issues including taxes, abortion, gay marriage and gun rights. Schmidt said he’s merely pointing out differences between himself and Duniphan, based on her 12-year voting record in the state Legislature and data taken from a state Web site.

and..

Schmidt also said, in an advertisement appearing this week, that Duniphan’s involvement in the South Dakota Mainstream Coalition — an organization formed last year to promote what organizers call centrist political ideals — reflects her true political leanings.

Schmidt’s advertisement said the coalition members believe in “gay marriage, restrictions on gun rights and abortion on demand.” Schmidt said that clearly separates him from Duniphan.

“The key differences: I’m 100 percent pro-family, 100 percent pro-life, 100 percent small business, 100 percent conservative Republican,” he said. “And I’m not a member of the Mainstream Coalition.”

Read it all here.

Here's what the Family Policy Council compiled for these two candidates on their Voters Guide (reproduced with permission) from voting records and questionnaires:

Senate	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
R-Duniphan	M	N	N	N	N	N	NA	NA	NA	NA
R-Schmidt	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	NA	N	Y	N	Y

1. Do you support legislation making kindergarten attendance mandatory?
2. Do you support legislation encouraging the presentation of multiple political viewpoints in South Dakota universities?
3. Do you support legislation prohibiting the distribution of contraceptives in schools?
4. Do you support legislation banning abortion?
5. Do you support legislation limiting marriage to one man and one woman and prohibiting civil unions?
6. Do you support legislation requiring a quota of one Native American member on the state Board of Pardons and Paroles?
7. Do you support legislation limiting conservation officers’ access to private land?
8. Do you support the initiated measure to repeal 4 percent gross receipts tax on cell phone services?
9. Do you support the initiated measure to legalize medical marijuana?
10. Do you support the initiated measure to repeal video lottery?

Stay tuned.