South Dakota’s outgoing Republican secretary of state has thrown her support behind a Democratic candidate to replace her.
Monae Johnson, who lost her Republican primary in June, endorsed Democrat Terrence Davis, a former state trooper, in a column published Saturday on the South Dakota War College political blog, according to The New York Times. She didn’t shy away from criticizing her own party’s approach to elections.
“South Dakota deserves a Secretary of State who will strengthen confidence through performance rather than provocation; who will support election officials rather than burden them for political effect; who will protect voter access and election security without pretending those goals are enemies,” Johnson wrote.
The endorsement is notable given Johnson’s own political origins. She won the secretary of state job in 2022 with backing from conservative activists demanding stricter election integrity measures after Trump falsely claimed his 2020 loss stemmed from widespread fraud, a claim repeatedly disproven by audits, recounts, and court cases nationwide. Johnson herself refused to acknowledge Joe Biden’s 2020 win and campaigned on promises like hand-counting every ballot and auditing all precincts.
Once in office, though, Johnson only followed through on some of those pledges, implementing a precinct audit process while abandoning other commitments, which eroded her standing with fellow Republicans over time. Republican delegates ultimately nominated state Rep. Heather Baxter over Johnson at the party’s June convention by a decisive 59-41 margin.
Johnson explained she chose to back Davis over her own party’s nominee specifically because of his relevant law enforcement and policy background, arguing his experience connects more directly to the office’s actual work. “My responsibility is to the people of South Dakota. I cannot remain silent when I believe the integrity, stability, and professionalism of this office is at stake,” Johnson wrote.
Davis welcomed the crossover support, framing it as evidence of genuine trust rather than political alignment.
“Monae and I come from different political parties. We will not agree on every issue. That is exactly why her confidence in me means so much,” Davis said.
The endorsement follows a broader pattern of Republican officials distancing themselves from Trump-aligned candidates this cycle, including last week’s wave of GOP criticism directed at Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French after he made disparaging comments about nonwhite University of Texas students celebrating at a football game.
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