RAPID CITY (South Dakota Searchlight) — Delegates at the South Dakota Republican Convention denied the state’s top election official an opportunity to seek reelection, choosing a nominee Saturday for secretary of state who advocates for hand-counted election results. Heather Baxter received 59% support in the convention hall at The Monument events center to beat incumbent Monae Johnson. The nomination was one of six decided by about 700 delegates from across the state during the convention’s third and final day. Baxter’s campaign website says she wants to “ensure every vote is counted accurately via paper ballots that are hand counted.” She received some of the day’s loudest applause when she finished her speech to the convention. “I know you guys are not looking for someone to impress you. You’re looking for someone you can trust,” Baxter said. “I will not make promises I cannot keep, and I will not flinch when the right answer is the hard one.” The loss was a turnabout for Johnson, who was a challenger when she beat an incumbent, Steve Barnett, at the 2022 convention. Johnson won that earlier nomination with the support of activists who denied the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and called for changes in election procedures, such as switching from electronic tabulating machines to hand-counting. Since Johnson’s election, some of those activists have grown dissatisfied with her for not delivering changes they sought. One new procedure Johnson did implement with the support of the Legislature is mandatory post-election audits in all of the state’s counties. She said during her speech that the audits have proven tabulating machines to be accurate. “I trust the county auditors to do their jobs,” Johnson said, “and I fully support the use of secure, tested ballot tabulators.” Johnson, of Pierre, will continue serving as secretary of state until her term ends in January. Baxter, of Rapid City, will advance to face two opponents in the Nov. 3 general election: Democratic nominee Terrence Davis and Libertarian nominee Tamara Lesnar. Baxter has been serving as a state representative for the past two years, but lost a primary race on June 2 and shifted her focus to the secretary of state race. She is a small-business owner from a well-known family in the Black Hills, where her late grandfather Korczak Ziolkowski started the Crazy Horse mountain carving. Attorney general Lance Russell, the state’s attorney of Fall River and Oglala Lakota counties, won a three-way contest for the attorney general nomination that took two rounds of voting to decide. Russell will be unopposed in the general election, because Democrats failed to field a candidate and there are no third-party or independent candidates. None of the three Republican hopefuls topped 50% in the first round of voting. Russell then reached 57% in the second round to beat Austin Hoffman’s 31% and John Fitzgerald’s 12%. Hoffman is the McPherson County state’s attorney, and Fitzgerald is a former judge and former state’s attorney of Butte and Lawrence counties. The state’s top law enforcement job is opening up because Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley won the party’s nomination in the June 2 primary election to run for U.S. House. The U.S. House seat is open because Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson unsuccessfully sought the party’s nomination for governor in the June 2 primary. Commissioner of school and public lands Incumbent Brock Greenfield, of Pierre, won his nomination with 81% support and will seek reelection as commissioner of school and public lands. He was challenged by James Bialota, a veteran and business owner from Piedmont. Greenfield will face Democratic nominee Raeann Mettler in the general election. The Office of School and Public Lands generates revenue for public education by leasing state-owned land for livestock grazing and leasing state-owned mineral rights for mining. State auditor Catherine Barranco won the auditor nomination with 53% support in the first round of voting against opponents Tamara Grove and Renae Randall. Grove is a state senator from Lower Brule who lost her primary race on June 2. Randall is a former employee of the South Dakota Investment Council. Barranco, of Sioux Falls, formerly worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigating financial fraud. The duties of the Auditor’s Office include auditing state accounts, administering the state payroll, monitoring fund balances and transfers, and filing financial reports. Incumbent Republican Auditor Rich Sattgast is term-limited and has endorsed Barranco. In the general election, Barranco will face Democratic nominee Tom Cool, of Sioux Falls. State treasurer Melissa Hull, an employee of the Treasurer’s Office, won 81% of the votes to win the treasurer nomination over Heath Shields, a businessman from Custer. The current state treasurer, Republican Josh Haeder, is term-limited and has endorsed Hull. The Treasurer’s Office is the receiver and custodian of state fund transfers and deposits, and manages banking for the state. It also receives unclaimed private property, such as abandoned bank accounts, and works to return the property to its owners. Hull will face Democratic nominee Margaret Kuipers of Sioux Falls in the general election. Public Utilities Commission Peri Pourier, who’s been a Republican less than a year after leaving the Democratic Party in September, received 45% support but came up short against longtime Republican Don Haggar, who received 55% to win the nomination for a seat on the Public Utilities Commission. Pourier is a term-limited state representative from Pine Ridge. Haggar, of Sioux Falls, is a former legislator and former state director of Americans for Prosperity. He has a background in real estate, banking and insurance. Haggar will face Democratic nominee Frank Kloucek in the general election. They are seeking the Public Utilities Commission seat being vacated by Republican Commissioner Gary Hanson, who is not seeking reelection. The commission’s duties include regulating electric, gas and telephone utilities, and considering permits for power plants, pipelines and related projects. 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