I learned a couple of things at last week’s South Dakota Republican Convention:

1. The representatives of the party wanted no more of Jason Gant. The vote was more than two-to-one for someone other than his selected assistant. There would have been more votes in the “no more Gant” camp, but Ms. Miller ran a very excellent campaign and is a well-liked person.

What do we take away from such a lopsided vote and where do we go from here?

• The honorable thing for Mr. Gant to do would be to immediately resign as Secretary of State. This would allow the governor to install the choice of the party in the office.
• Ms. Miller should act on Bob Mercer’s observation, “Odd that someone, whether it be the secretary of state or his deputy or one of the office employees, wouldn’t have tracked these matters down Friday and corrected them.”
• Further, IF—as has been reported—Mr. Gant no longer comes into the office, Ms. Miller should talk to the Attorney General about if any of Mr. Gant’s salary should be withheld. She alone would know if he is performing his duties as Secretary of State.

Individuals will want to discuss resolutions repeatedly—even if what they have to say has already been said by someone else and even if the resolution will result in no significant legislative action. Despite the lack of action, the resolutions do serve to express the opinion of the leaders of the Republican Party.

It was a good convention and I look forward to attending the next convention and learning even more!