Don't be fooled by Peri Pourier's Switcheroo!

Please don't be fooled by the switcheroo! In the online article regarding District 27 State Representative Peri Pourier switching her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, KELOLAND misled the public by stating that Ms. Pourier lives in Pine Ridge. That is false. She lives in Rapid City. She does not live within the reservation's exterior boundaries. Perhaps KELOLAND staff could have done a better job of visiting the SD Secretary of State website, and upon inspection, discovered that her filed campaign finance reports show the following address: 14946 Back Country Trail, Rapid City, SD 57703. KELOLAND is spreading misinformation: "Pourier, who lives in Pine Ridge, represents Bennett, Jackson, Oglala Lakota and Pennington Counties in the legislature." Start reporting facts and the truth rather than your own bias and narrative. See the Keloland News posting below with the link to the article:

Source: https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/south-dakota-lawmaker-changes-political-parties/

Campaign Finance Report from Peri Pourier filed with SD Secretary of State https://sdcfr.sdsos.gov/Document.aspx?DocumentID=63575&type=doc

During the 2025 Legislative Session, she was not a prime sponsor of any legislation; she missed four days of the 38-day session and failed to cast 30 votes on behalf of her constituents.

During the 2024 voter forum in Wall, I approached her afterward and asked, "What do you mean when you say, 'I will fight for MY people?'" She knew full well what she meant and began back paddling as she was caught in a web of words that she couldn’t take back. She has never represented her non-Indian constituents in Bennett, Jackson, or east Pennington County, only the Oyate.

During my 2024 state senate campaign, she never showed up for the parade at the Oglala Nation Fair on the Saturday after the shooting at the pow wow grounds the night before. Even South Dakota Mom for Congress Democratic nominee Sheryl Johnson was there for the parade, but Pourier and Foster were nowhere to be found. Pourier was supposed to carpool in the parade with Sheryl Johnson, but she didn’t show up. She missed the opportunity to meet thousands of Oyate lining the streets of Pine Ridge village, but apparently, she cared more about her safety than meeting with her constituents. Talk about “Fighting for MY people!”

Moreover, both Pourier and Foster have been known to break South Dakota law by campaigning and hosting a voter forum in a designated voting center in Allen during the 45-day early voting phase of the 2024 general election. Neither the local State's Attorney, the Department of Justice, nor the Office of the Attorney General did anything about it when it was brought to their attention. It's why we need reform of our election laws in South Dakota, but even after all the new legislation that was passed in 2025, no one wants to take them on for breaking the law.

Democrat Nominees (Pourier, Meeks, and Foster) are hosting a voter forum in a designated voting center in Allen during the 45-day early voting phase of the 2024 general election.

During the 2025 legislative session, Pourier voted “NO” on HB 1220 to protect and strengthen the integrity of our election laws (to amend provisions on the verification of registered voters contained in the master registration file). She was also one of four house representatives who passively voted “NO” on HB 1230 to protect South Dakotans from the harmful effects of the distribution of fentanyl (An Act to revise a provision related to unauthorized distribution of fentanyl and provide a penalty therefor). Finally, she received a 38% score on the 2024 House Score Card by Family Voice Action for not supporting legislation that would impact the preservation and protection of South Dakota family values. She also received the poorest rating of an “F” for her support of reducing the penalty for unlawful possession of a cannabis product, with exceptions including supporting the legalization of medical marijuana in the state of South Dakota. Let's also not forget that it was Pourier and Foster who wanted to force a mask mandate on all South Dakotans during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we all know how well that worked out. See the letter sent to then Governor Noem below:

Source: https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/two-lawmakers-send-gov-noem-letter-asking-for-statewide-mask-mandate/

Pourier is all smoke and mirrors. She is not a true conservative by any means, despite what her House colleagues say. She has been known to be a maverick and has led the “resistance” by trying to “balance the unchecked powers in Pierre,” according to her 2024 campaign literature. She is an opportunist who is presently aligning herself with the supermajority party to be a shoo-in for the 2026 District 27 State Senate race, since she is term-limited in the House. I wonder what took her so long to realize that when you run as a Democrat in South Dakota, you don’t get to caucus with the super majority party and don’t get to set the table.

Unfortunately, identity politics continues to be the name of the game on the rez, and the locals continue to vote for Pourier and Foster after they took thousands of dollars from the Democratic Party and its supporters, and then stabbed their own voting bloc in the back by separating themselves from the Democratic caucus because they didn’t get into powerful leadership positions in their respective chambers. All one must do is look at their records, and you will know why. I wish her all the best, as she will face a Republican primary challenger if she files to run for state senate in 2026, because District 27 deserves better.