Paula Hawks (born September 11, 1975) is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided into ...

representing District 9 from January 11, 2013 to January 10, 2017. Hawks grew up on a farm near

Flandreau, South Dakota Flandreau is a city in and county seat of Moody County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,372 at the 2020 census. It was named in honor of Charles Eugene Flandrau, a judge in the territory and state of Minnesota. He is credite ...

. Hawks is a bank training specialist and a former high school science teacher. She has three children with her husband, Steve.

Elections

*2012 To challenge District 9 incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Representatives Bob Deelstra and

Steve Hickey Steve Hickey (born June 4, 1967, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American pastor and politician who served three terms in the South Dakota House of Representatives representing District 9 (including part of Sioux Falls, with most of the territory to ...

, Holly Boltjes-Johnson ran in the June 5, 2012 Democratic primary but withdrew prior to the November 6, 2012 general election; Hawks replaced Boltjes-Johnson for the four-way general election, where incumbent Republican Representative Hickey took the first seat and Hawks took the second seat with 3,965 votes (26.04%) ahead of incumbent Republican Representative Deelstra and fellow Democratic nominee Mark Anderson, who had run for the seat in 2010. *2016 To challenge incumbent U.S. Congresswoman

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 2016 election cycle, Hawks challenged sitting Republican Congresswoman Kristi Noem for South Dakota's lone seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Noem criticized Hawks for her support of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while Hawks criticized Noem for supporting Donald J. Trump. In a live televised debate, Hawks shared her experience of being a survivor of sexual assault and how she could not understand supporting Trump after all of his comments about women and allegations of assaulting women. Hawks also criticized Noem's decision to give up South Dakota's longtime seat on the House Agriculture Committee and instead to take a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee. In the November election Congresswoman Noem defeated Hawks.

Chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party

On March 23, 2019, Hawks was elected party chair. On October 23, 2019, Hawks (and Executive Director Stacey Burnette) resigned amid party financial struggles that showed approximately $47,000.00 in debt.

References

External links

Official page
at the

South Dakota Legislature The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, whic ...

* 1975 births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Schoolteachers from South Dakota American women educators Democratic Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives People from Flandreau, South Dakota People from Hartford, South Dakota Place of birth missing (living people) Women state legislators in South Dakota State political party chairs of South Dakota {{SouthDakota-politician-stub