Billie Harmon Sutton (born March 16, 1984) is an American former professional bronc rider and politician. He was a member of the

South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers L ...

from 2011 to 2019, served as Minority Leader, and was the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Democratic nominee for

Governor of South Dakota The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Kristi Noem, a member of the Republican Party who t ...

, which he narrowly lost to Republican nominee

Kristi Noem Kristi Lynn Noem (; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019 and a member ...

in the general election.

Early life, education, and rodeo accident

A fifth-generation South Dakotan, Sutton grew up in

Burke, South Dakota Burke is a city in and county seat of Gregory County, South Dakota, Gregory County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 575 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Burke was laid out in 1904 and incorporated in 1906. It ...

, on his family ranch, where his interest in

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaq ...

began. Sutton went to college at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

and became a successful rider as the university's all-time leader in rodeo points. He graduated in May 2008 with a degree in finance. Sutton competed professionally on the PRCA circuit, reaching a top 30 worldwide ranking. In 2007, Sutton was paralyzed from the waist down when his horse flipped upside down in the chute prior to a bronc ride at a rodeo in

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

. He was 23 years old at the time of the accident. After the accident and completion of his college degree, Sutton returned to Burke to work as an investment consultant at a bank.

Political career

In 2010, Sutton was elected to the South Dakota Senate, representing District 21. He served as Senate Assistant Minority Leader from 2013 to 2015. He was succeeded in this position by

Troy Heinert Troy Heinert (born July 29, 1972) is an American politician currently serving as the minority leader of the South Dakota Senate. Elected to the Senate in 2014, he was elected in 2015 as Senate assistant minority leader.South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers L ...

's Minority Leader. In May 2017, Sutton announced his candidacy for

at his family ranch in Burke, SD. Michelle Lavallee of Sioux Falls, a former Republican, was the Lieutenant Governor candidate on Sutton's ticket. Sutton lost in the

2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election The 2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of South Dakota. Incumbent Republican governor Dennis Daugaard was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term. ...

, 51.0 to 47.6 percent, in the closest gubernatorial election in South Dakota since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

Endorsements

The Sioux Falls

Argus Leader The ''Argus Leader'' is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Owned by Gannett, it was the state's largest newspaper by total circulation until 2021 when it was surpassed by the ''Rapid City Journal'', according to statistics from th ...

and

Rapid City Journal The ''Rapid City Journal'' (formerly the ''Black Hills Journal'' and the ''Rapid City Daily Journal'') is the daily newspaper of Rapid City, South Dakota. As of 2021, it is the largest newspaper in South Dakota by total subscriptions, according ...

endorsed Sutton for South Dakota Governor in 2018. Sutton was also endorsed by a number of prominent Republicans, including former U.S. Senator

Larry Pressler Larry Lee Pressler (born March 29, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from South Dakota who served in the United States House of Representatives (1975–1979) and United States Senate (1979–1997) as a Republican. He remained active in ...

, former

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

Majority Leader Dave Knudson, former

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

Dave Volk, former Mayor of Sioux Falls Rick Knobe, and current Lincoln County Commissioner Jim Schmidt, among others.

Political views

Sutton is a "pro-Second Amendment" moderate Democrat with an anti-corruption focus.

Personal life

While the accident ended Sutton's rodeo career, it did not quell his love of horse riding, an activity he still enjoys alongside his wife Kelsea. Sutton and his wife have three sons. A daughter, Lenore, was born July 8, 2020, but passed away a week later. In August 2022, a community

splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typical ...

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman Monarchy of Ireland, Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had ...

named Lenny’s Lily Pad was opened to honor their daughter.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official campaign website

Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Billie 1984 births 21st-century American politicians American politicians with disabilities Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Living people People from Burke, South Dakota Politicians with paraplegia Democratic Party South Dakota state senators University of Wyoming alumni