Letter to the Editor: - Miller: ‘Dear Dusty’

Dusty Johnson came to my high school graduation party. The Dusty Johnson I see in Congress today is an entirely different man than the one who came to Discovery Park in May of 2019.
I’d invited him without any expectation he’d respond, let alone show up. I didn’t know the then-freshman Congressman personally; I was barely familiar with his policies. Frankly, I just thought his name was interesting.
As the years went by, and as I’d get involved further in politics – albeit on the opposite side of the aisle – I’d see the Congressman briefly on several occasions. In Dakota Days parades in Vermillion, at town halls in Sioux Falls, and even in the tunnels below the United States Capitol. Each of these times, Dusty always said hello. That is, until these last few years.
The last time Dusty communicated with me individually was via a photo he texted to me of him with my then-partner at a restaurant in Vermillion. My then-partner is non-binary but presented as feminine. He had taken a picture with a trans person and called them “a keeper.” Later, he would go on to vote against the Respect for Marriage Act, voting against our right to “keep” one another.
It’s since then that I’ve begun to see a shift in Dusty. As Noem entered the veepstakes, I’m sure Dusty knew that he was the heir-apparent for the Governor’s Mansion should Rhoden not beat him to it in a primary.
The last time I saw Dusty was while I was working in Washington, D.C., during the 2024 election cycle. I saw him walking from the United States Capitol Building to his Office. Previously, he’d always smiled, made eye contact, and made sure to say hello – something that I appreciated, even with all our disagreements.
This time, he was cold; he ignored me when I said hello and continued walking as if I were a fly whom he couldn’t get to leave him alone.
In short, Dusty got Washington-ified. 
Dusty Johnson went to Washington promising that it “wouldn’t know what hit ‘em” and that he’d “Give it the Full Dusty.” It seems like. Instead, Dusty didn’t know what hit him, as the stink of Washington seemed to have settled into his suit jacket.
Dusty Johnson is not the right call for Governor of South Dakota.

Addison Miller

Sioux Falls

About the author: Addison Miller was raised in Sioux Falls and graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He has served in various roles within the SD Democratic Party, including as the former President of the Young Democrats of South Dakota. He currently serves as the Communications Chair of Minnehaha County following his move back from Washington, D.C., where he had worked as a Digital Coordinator at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.