Democrat Sutton to run for governor

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BURKE (AP) – State Senate Democratic leader Billie Sutton said Wednesday that he's running for governor in 2018 to help working families and fight corruption in South Dakota.

Sutton announced his bid to more than 100 supporters at his family's ranch near Burke. The 33-year-old investment consultant and former rodeo rider faces a challenging race in heavily Republican South Dakota, where the GOP currently controls every statewide office and has supermajorities in both legislative chambers.

Sutton said as governor he would work to make sure that South Dakota residents can have good paying jobs, a high quality of life and a world-class education. If he becomes the first Democratic governor elected in South Dakota since 1974, Sutton said he would serve as a check on the Republican-controlled Legislature in Pierre.

Sutton said he would "change the culture of corruption" in government, referencing recent high-profile scandals that have resulted in deaths, including alleged theft and an attempted cover-up at a Platte-based educational cooperative and what authorities have called financial misconduct involving the EB-5 visa program.

He said also that South Dakota has a lot of work to do on education and early-childhood education.

"For too long the status quo has reigned in South Dakota and plagued our state Capitol," Sutton said. "I've seen it there firsthand. We've fallen behind, and we can't afford more of the same."

Sutton has been a champion for working families as a senator while Republicans in Pierre have shown no interest in helping them get ahead, Democratic Party Chairwoman Ann Tornberg said in a statement.

Sutton has served as a member of the state Senate since 2011 representing District 21 in south central South Dakota, but term limits prevent him from running again in the next election.

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley are Republicans competing for the governor's office in 2018. Republican Party Chairman Dan Lederman said Sutton is a "hyper-partisan liberal Democrat" who doesn't want South Dakota residents to know his true views.

"Billie Sutton's positions on policy would be disastrous for South Dakota," Lederman said.