Phil Jensen (born July 24, 1952), is an American politician from Pennington County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

who is a current member of the South Dakota House of Representatives and has served as a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate representing District 33 from 2013 to 2021. Jensen served consecutively in 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, which ...

from January 2009 until January 8, 2013 in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 33 seat. He supplements his legislative income as a

cookware Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...

dealer.

Political controversies and disputes

Jensen attracted attention nationally for his assertion in an interview with the '' Rapid City Journal'' that the

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

, not government, should be allowed to decide whether or not racial discrimination is acceptable, and that his SB 128 introduced in 2013, which would allow discrimination by business owners, would serve to protect "the constitutional right to free association, the right to free speech and private property rights." (The bill failed, having drawn such reactions as fellow Republican State Senator

Mark Kirkeby Mark K. Kirkeby (born March 19, 1960, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American politician and a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate representing District 35 since January 8, 2013. Kirkeby served consecutively in the South Dakota Legisla ...

terming it "a mean, nasty, hateful, vindictive bill.") Jensen's stance was repudiated by Republican Governor

Dennis Daugaard Dennis Martin Daugaard (born June 11, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 32nd governor of South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first chief executive of a U.S. state to be the c ...

, who issued a press release stating, "I found his comments to be completely out of line with South Dakota values. I don't agree with him and I haven't talked to anyone who does. Jensen is uncertain about the assertion that he is South Dakota's most conservative politician, describing himself as simply a true

Reagan conservative Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...

; but asserts that "too many" members of his own party are Republicans In Name Only. In 2022, it emerged that Jensen had been a member of the far-right militia group, the Oath Keepers.

Elections

South Dakota House of Representatives

*2008 When House District 33 incumbent Republican Representative Michael Buckingham ran for South Dakota Senate and incumbent Republican Representative Don Van Etten was

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

ed and left the Legislature, Jensen ran in the four-way June 3, 2008 Republican Primary and placed second with 830 votes (28.2%), in the four-way November 4, 2008 General election fellow Republican nominee Jacqueline Sly took the first seat and Jensen took the second seat with 4,926 votes (31.4%) ahead of Democratic nominees Jeff Nelson (who had run for the seat in 2006) and Kimberly Henderson. *2010 Jensen and incumbent Representative Sly were unopposed for both the June 8, 2010 Republican Primary and the November 2, 2010 General election, where Jensen took the first seat with 4,920 votes (56.62%) and Representative Sly took the second seat.

South Dakota Senate

*2012 When incumbent Senate District 33 Republican Senator Elizabeth Kraus left the Legislature and left the District 33 seat open, Jensen ran in the June 5, 2012 Republican Primary and placed first with 1,128 votes (57.6%) against former Representative Michael Buckingham who had run for the seat in 2008; Jensen won the November 6, 2012 General election with 5,722 votes (57.4%) against Democratic nominee Matt McGrath.

South Dakota House of Representatives

* In November 2020, Jensen was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives with 10,251 votes along with

Taffy Howard Taffy D. Howard (née Chewning) is an American small business owner and politician serving as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 33rd district. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, she has served the district ...

who received 7,902 votes, they were uncontested. In June 2020, Johnson received 2,297 and

received 2,831 votes to win the primary election defeating Melanie Torno who received 1,620 votes.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Campaign site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Phil Politicians from Wichita, Kansas 1952 births Living people Republican Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives Politicians from Rapid City, South Dakota Republican Party South Dakota state senators 21st-century American legislators