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PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) South Dakotas state legislature only has 11 Democrats while the other 94 legislators are Republicans. Democratic Sen. Red Dawn Foster of Pine Ridge says being among such a minority isnt easy.

Theres a couple committees that we do not have representation on, so there are interns just as note keepers in there, so that they keep abreast of whats going on in those committees, and so it definitely has been a challenge, Foster said.

Shes one of only three Democrats in the Senate where there are 32 Republicans. Over in the House, there are 62 Republicans and just eight Democrats.

Its always an uphill battle, theres nothing we can do without bipartisan support and making a friend, so in that way it makes us make sure that anything that we bring is vetted that we want to get passed, Democratic Rep. Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls said.

Its two-fold, Democratic Rep. Oren Lesmeister of Parade said. One, it gets frustrating sometimes. We try to pass some legislation, and theres times that its dead on arrival as they would say.

But there can be camaraderie in any small group.

The other side of the coin is, though, being such a small caucus as we call it, with eight in the House and three in the Senate, 11 total, were like family, Lesmeister said. So we know everybodys bills, we know whats going on, we understand issues that are coming up, whether its in the Senate or House.

You automatically get drawn in to one anothers lives, and we do. Theres a great amount of care between all of us, and you got to have somebody that has your back in Pierre, and we know we have each others backs, Smith said.

I know everyone in our caucus, and Ive gotten a lot of support as a new legislator because I am the only new Democrat as well, so Ive seen some advantages there to having a small group that maybe I could get lost in the shuffle in a bigger group, Democratic Rep. Jennifer Keintz of Eden said.

Foster says there is more than one issue with having that 94 to 11 split.

I think that its not only difficult to accomplish the legislative goals, but it doesnt make for good dialogue, because diversity of thought, diversity, inclusion and being able to really flesh out legislation and ideas, especially the communities that we represent are underrepresented in the legislation, Foster said.

While the legislature is about 90% Republican, as of February 1, only about 48% of active registered voters in the state were Republican.

I still dont think its totally Republican-dominated, Lesmeister said.

When you look at the number of registered Democrats, independents and things like that across our state and how conservative our legislature has swung, it doesnt represent the state in the way that I think we should, and you see that when we pass things like the marijuana bill that passes, Smith said. Thats a fairly liberal idea, right, not just to do medical but also do recreational in the same sweep.

I think the Democrats have gotten behind what the public wants to do, and weve championed their cause, said Democratic Rep. Shawn Bordeaux of Mission.

And as Keintz points out, a stance on an issue doesnt have to be partisan.

Its not always just a strictly Democrat/Republican viewpoint on a lot of issues, so I dont always see it just on strict party lines with everything, Keintz said. You know there are some things that dont have to do with only party, but I do think that some of the ideas are getting lost or not really being elevated because we do have a small number.

11 is a comparably small number, but its neither lonely nor insignificant.

There may be only eight of us in the House, but, three in the Senate, but they still count, Lesmeister said.

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What its like to be a Democrat in the South Dakota state legislature - KELOLAND.com