Breaking GOP News - Karl Adam of Pierre is going to run for State GOP chair

I've been holding off on this one for a while now because there's been some back and forth and will he or won't he. But, I can make it official as his name is out, and he's got the endorsement of the Governor and Senator Thune, making it practically a done deal.

Karl Adam is for all practical purposes, the front runner for the State GOP Chair position. In a release just coming out from the GOP ...
South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Randy Frederick today joined Governor Mike Rounds and U.S. Senator John Thune in voicing support for Karl Adam of Pierre for State Party Chairman.

Governor Rounds touted Adam’s nomination. “I think Karl Adam is the right person at the right time as we build our base for the 2008 election cycle,” he said. “His skills and principles make him the right person to chair the Republican Party in South Dakota . I fully support his candidacy for party chair.”

“Karl has been a long-time, hard-working member of the South Dakota Republican Party and I whole-heartedly support his nomination for chair,” said Thune. “I have worked with Karl closely over the years and his vision, abilities, and values prepare him to be a great leader of our party.”

“After discussing the responsibilities of running the state’s largest political party with Karl, I’m confident he is the most capable person for the position,” Frederick said. “I strongly support Mr. Adam for leader of the South Dakota Republican Party.”

Adam has been President and CEO of Dakota State Bank in Pierre for the past 13 years. He previously worked in Washington D.C. in the U.S. Department of Commerce and in Pierre for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Adam and his wife Joan have five children and live in Pierre .

Frederick, who has served as chairman since 2003, will not seek re-election at the State Central Committee meeting in February. The State Chair position is elected by the county Republican Party leaders from across the state.
Should we expect another candidate to emerge at this point? ......Er, probably not. I've been speaking with GOP leaders and activists from across South Dakota - both conservative and more moderate - and they view Karl's possible chairmanship as a good thing.

Which means that it might actually be possible to stitch a fragmented GOP back together. This more than anything else should cause Democrats concern.

Comments

Anonymous said…
what about that clown Rosenthal? i thought he was running?? thank the Lord he isn't
Anonymous said…
funny how lex will use a capitalized letter when he refers to the diety. oh, i see he's calling himself anonymous.

All right! Hey, PP, is this the first step for the Mickelson family to line things up for Mark Mickelson to make it three generations in a row to be Governor? Just wondering. Are family members from other Goob Wannabes going to jump in to run for chairman? Gotta protect the family interest, y'know.
PP said…
Actually, I don't think this was something he was looking for (otherwise I would have had confirmation earlier).

But that being said, lots of people encouraged him because he uniquely has the potential to bring the party factions together.
Anonymous said…
This makes sense from one perspective:

Thune-Mickelson-Adam. One wants to be the other who wants to be the other and governor.

What about Denny and all that 2010 planning? Is Rounds conceding the stategy that will move from this point forward to put M.M. into the new governors mansion?

Wonder who Lee Schonebeck wanted to get the spot? Isaac Latrell???
Anonymous said…
Missed your 7:26 PP. Ha Ha.
PP said…
7:27, I don't want to speak for him, but I did ask Lee about it over xmas, and he thought Karl was a great choice.
Anonymous said…
PP: Nice job trying to cover your butt on getting scooped by Dave Kranz. Interesting how you're so quick to trumpet your scoops - but don't give proper credit to others who scoop you.
PP said…
How could Dave not have it?

It's been on the streets for about a month. But it didn't firm up until recently.

If you're disappointed, I did provide another scoop for tonight.
Anonymous said…
I think Karl is a good person and will make a good chairman, but I think he's somewhat of an interesting choice.

Given the strong ties between the Mickelson-Thune camp, I'm not quite sure what the benefit is, politically, to Rounds. One has to wonder if Thune will now have more say in how the party operates and Rounds less.

From what I've observed over the last four years, Rounds has been pretty hands off on giving direction to the party. Maybe he's happy to concede that duty to Thune.

I'll be interested to hear others take on this one.
Anonymous said…
6:22 - give the Joel bashing a rest. Most people were aware he wasn't serious about running, although he apparently did have several people urging him to do it.
Anonymous said…
I guess Schwiesow can stop making phone calls on her own behalf now

and how about that new Pennington County chairman? Got that scoop yet, PP? Goodbye O'Krepke. Thank God.
PP said…
Actually I got that a day or so ago, and hadn't gotten to it yet.
Anonymous said…
Thank God that Joel is out. That is good news in and of itself. Everyone knows Joel was lusting after the job. Otherwise he's got no relevence at all. He has been as destructive as anyone could be in destroying the grass-roots of the state gop. Plus, we can thank him for Johnson and Daschle's years of service.

Let's hope Adam is not just another lap dog for the status quo, spend-happy liberal "republicans" in Pierre. The problem is that all those Pierre "republicans" seem to be nothing more than democrat-lite. Boy I hope I'm wrong about Adam.
Anonymous said…
If Adam is as cautious as Team Thune, we can kiss our majority status in the legislature good bye.
Anonymous said…
I wouldn't take this move to mean Rounds is moving away from Daugaard. Mark Mickelson may want to be governor someday, but he has done nothing to move towards a 2010 run - he seems to be biding his time. Picking a Pierre guy with solid ties to Thune, as well as to the Mickelson legacy, is a great choice for Rounds and to strengthen the party.

Adam is certainly a stronger chairman that Jack Billion, who after captaining the sinking ship of his own campaign moves to another vessel.
Anonymous said…
He's taller than Billion.
Anonymous said…
Rounds doesn't like jokes about height
Anonymous said…
I'm sure he meant Adam, not Rounds. Didn't Adam play college basketball?
Anonymous said…
Is anyone in Rounds' family over 5'7"? Good thing for Jack they won't be playing basketball, bad thing for Adam they might have to debate.
Anonymous said…
8:52 pm - Why not have the central committee give direction for the state party?

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