Democratic South Dakota lawmaker switches to Republican Party ahead of special session [View all]

South Dakota state Rep. Peri Pourier has switched her political affiliation from Democratic to Republican.

Pourier made the announcement on Monday, a day before lawmakers gather for a special session to vote on a state prison construction plan. South Dakota Searchlight confirmed Pourier’s registration switch with a county election official.

The switch further tips the scales in Republicans’ favor, with 97 Republicans and eight Democrats in the Legislature after Pourier’s defection. That’s the lowest number of Democrats in the Legislature since 1953, when there were two.

Pourier is an Oglala Lakota tribal member with a Rapid City address who represents District 27. It stretches from just east of Rapid City to the Pine Ridge Reservation and includes other rural areas. She is a former member of the Democratic House leadership team, but declined to caucus with her fellow Democrats during the most recent legislative session. So did her Senate district mate Red Dawn Foster, who did not immediately respond to a South Dakota Searchlight message Monday.




https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democratic-south-dakota-lawmaker-switches-republican-party-ahead-special-session