Eyes will also be on the Senate races tomorrow, where there is a greater chance to shift the balance of power. Current polls show South Dakota’s Senate seat is a safe bet with Republican Mike Rounds. We caught up with his Democrat challenger Dan Ahlers to learn about his hopes for rural America.
Dan Ahlers serves in the South Dakota state legislature and runs a small business. Now, he hopes to bring that experience to Washington. If elected, he says that he would work to address competition in the meatpacking industry and allow for more interstate commerce.
According to Ahlers, “One of the things I’d like to see that I think could be beneficial to our agricultural businesses and our farmers is the ability to move product over state lines. You’ve seen it in a lot of other areas of industry, where the rules... between professions and state borders has lightened up and allowed people to do that business across state lines without heavy restrictions-- I think we should be doing that for agriculture.”
He says that the trade war with China hit South Dakota producers hard and policy makers should stand up for farmers.
“We need people that are willing to do that, but we also need people that are willing to stand up for our farmers and ranchers when they see poor administrative decisions being made, poor policy, poor trade agreements, so that we can avoid these types of things in the future,” he notes.
Using his own business as an example, he explains how we would approach trade negotiations: “As a small business owner, if i have a vendor that isn’t treating me fairly and I want a better price, I line up another vendor on the side to take that other vendor’s place... I’m working from a point of power.”
Ahlers says that his rural community would benefit from more investments in broadband and infrastructure.
“Right now, when we’re looking at stimulus packages, when were looking at trying to make our economy go, this is the time that we should be investing in infrastructure like that,” he adds. “It’s an unique opportunity to take a bad situation and do something good.”
He says that investing in infrastructure is also a good way to create jobs and help people get back to work.
For the full interview click HERE.
For more election coverage click HERE.