INTERVIEW: South Dakota’s Attorney General discusses AI and his campaign for Congress
South Dakota’s Attorney General Marty Jackley, who has spent almost his whole career in South Dakota, is hoping for a change next year — as Rep. Dusty Johnson (R., S.D.) vacates the state’s at-large congressional district, Jackley is setting his sights on Washington, D.C.
“What I’ve seen as a U.S. Attorney and as Attorney General and in the leadership roles I’ve played as Attorney General is that the fight really is in Washington,” he told the Washington Reporter in an interview. “The things that are near and dear to us in South Dakota — the things that we care about, the individual freedoms, the importance of being not just safe and secure in our homes, but economic security, all have to do with D.C.”
Jackley, a four-term attorney general, is particularly interested in joining the Judiciary and Agriculture Committees, should he win next year. He told the Reporter that he’s already told both Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) about his interests.
“Certainly I don’t want to put the cart before the horse; I’m working hard to get elected. I’m up 57 to five in the Mason Dixon public poll, but I’m taking it serious,” he said. “Agriculture is so important to me personally, being a landowner of a ranch and a farm, as well as to my constituents, and the desire to see not just producers and our farmers taken care of, but seeing value added is important.”
But, he said, the main “interest I’ve expressed is I want to be where I can be most helpful,” he added. “Having been United States Attorney, having been an attorney general for four terms, having been a local DA in two smaller counties, I feel I have a lot to add to that. Certainly, that experience would be valuable. I’m hoping that I can take that experience that I’ve had in those different roles and bring it to judiciary. Certainly, antitrust has always been important to me, both as the United States Attorney and as attorney general. So those are areas of interest.”
Jackley’s career in politics was assisted by South Dakota’s most prominent politician: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who nominated Jackley as United States Attorney, a role that “gave me further administrative experience and a broader political name recognition that really lifted me up to where I am now.”
Thune, Jackley said, is “doing an excellent job.” His role as the top Republican in the Senate has “shown strong leadership that has helped South Dakota.”
Thune also “helped me as Attorney General,” Jackley added. “When the One Big, Beautiful Bill was going through and there were concerns with the AG community on AI, it was nice to be able to pick up the phone and have the conversation with the leader’s staff about what the AGs were looking for, how we wanted the One Big, Beautiful Bill, but there were aspects of AI that we needed help on, and Senator Thune made that happen.”
The “three areas [in AI policy] that we want to see guardrails on and protection on are the pornography side, the election integrity side, and for consumers,” Jackley said. “And if you look at what was originally passed out of Congress, there was a moratorium on states putting in laws dealing with this, or states enforcing laws. What the Senate worked through, with the help of Senator Thune and what the AGs were asking for, is to recognize that AI needs to have innovation; it needs to have a fair, free market, but there’ll need to be guardrails, and Congress has to put those in place.”
In addition to Jackley’s South Dakota connections, he has a history of working with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was Florida’s top law enforcement official while he served as South Dakota’s Attorney General.
“This interview would go hours if I had to talk about the opportunities I had to work with General Bondi,” he said. “One of the issues that came to forefront was Obamacare, and how Florida really led that core group of attorneys general in addressing that, and that had important implications for South Dakota. Oftentimes, it’s talked about how that was a five to four decision on Obamacare, but really what happened is that we prevailed on the Medicaid side, which gave our states the opportunity and the time to be able to implement what ultimately happened with that.”
Bondi was also “certainly a leader in the opioid fight,” he added. “I look at South Dakota from that leadership right now, we brought in about $98.2 million; that was possible because of the work of General Bondi. I’ve been to the Department of Justice several times, I’ve been to her office, had good conversations about the work and partnerships that DOJ has and needs to have with the attorney general community.”
While Jackley said that officials at the Department of Justice will always answer calls from a state attorney general, his unique relationship with Bondi has changed the game for South Dakotans; it gives him “more of an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with results with the current DOJ.”
Should Jackley win next year, he told the Reporter that he looks forward to working with the Trump administration on issues relevant to South Dakotans, specifically agriculture, crime, and the opioid epidemic.
“I have seen what Washington can do for Ag, and I want to be supportive of President Trump’s administration and what he’s doing about putting America first,” he said. “I think he’s demonstrated that recently with helping out our farmers. I’ve seen it as AG with the HALT Fentanyl Act, and I want to be a part of that, helping that agenda, putting America and South Dakota first.”
He also said that there is an “absolute need” to work with the administration on cracking down on crime. “When you look at the partnerships, whether it’s the ICAC, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or others, that’s where we do exceptionally well together,” he said. “DOJ is a partner, along with local law enforcement and the Attorney General. You look at all of our controlled substance operations, it’s always a federal, state, and local operation. Look at securing the border. What they’ve done on securing the border has been amazing. It’s helping keep the drugs out of my state. Time and time again, the work of the DOJ is important to attorneys general, and we’ve seen it with General Bondi.”
Below is a transcript of our interview with South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Attorney General Jackley, you have spent your entire career and life in South Dakota. Why do you want to come to D.C. and be your state’s sole member of Congress in the House of Representatives?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
What I’ve seen as a U.S. Attorney and as Attorney General and in the leadership roles I’ve played as Attorney General is that the fight really is in Washington. The things that are near and dear to us in South Dakota — the things that we care about, the individual freedoms, the importance of being not just safe and secure in our homes, but economic security, all have to do with D.C. I have two farms and a ranch. I understand the importance of Ag. I have seen what Washington can do for Ag, and I want to be supportive of President Trump’s administration and what he’s doing about putting America first. I think he’s demonstrated that recently with helping out our farmers. I’ve seen it as AG with the HALT Fentanyl Act, and I want to be a part of that, helping that agenda, putting America and South Dakota first.
Washington Reporter:
How is the Trump administration handling agricultural issues? Obviously they’re looking at this trade package for farmers. What’s important from South Dakota’s standpoint as you think about that?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
I will tell you, as a landowner, as somebody that has a ranch and two farms, we want a free market. We believe we can compete with any market, both with quality and price of our product, whether it’s our beef, our grain, or our other commodities. And we want that fair playing field, so I support the president’s efforts to gain that fair, competitive playing field, and doing it with tariffs as leverage, but recognize we need an end game. Our farmers, our producers, our ranchers, need that end game. They need that security, and they need to have more certainty in making decisions on cattle purchases, what crops we’re planting. On my land we planted corn, milo, alfalfa, and sandgrass this year, and we need a level of certainty, and I think using the tariffs as leverage makes good business sense, and I’m supportive of that, but recognize we’ve got to get that end game where the leverage comes true for our producers.
Washington Reporter:
Some of your potentially future colleagues on the Democratic side are trying to drive a wedge between Trump and farmers, who are obviously a core constituency of his. Is that working on the ground? Is there division that you see in South Dakota with the Ag community?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
No, because Trump’s agenda is starting to really work. We’ve all along wanted that fair, competitive market. We did not have that under Biden and other administrations, and we’re getting that put in place. But again, it needs to be done sooner than later to keep our producers producing and feeding America and the world.
Washington Reporter:
How do you think South Dakotans view the Trump presidency writ large?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
We support those policies. We believe in putting America first. We believe that we should have a strong defense; Ellsworth Air Force Base is in South Dakota. We benefit from that. We’ve all along believed in less government, government accountability, and he’s bringing that to Washington, and I want to be a part of that, and I am supportive of that.
Washington Reporter:
You haven’t been in Congress for this Congress, but as you look at the policies, specifically the One Big, Beautiful Bill package that your whole delegation voted for, that the White House was pushing for, is that something that you think you would have voted for had you been in office now? And are there already impacts that you’re seeing from that bill in South Dakota, or is that you think will start to manifest next year?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
The bill was important to not just South Dakota but to America. It was important for the tax cuts. It was important to move things forward. Certainly, there were additional items out there that, whether as AG or as a South Dakotan that I wanted to see, and I want to continue to further those, but overall, the reason the South Dakota delegation supported the One Big, Beautiful Bill was because it was good for South Dakota and good for America on a lot of different levels.
Washington Reporter:
So let’s talk about your current day job, Attorney General of South Dakota. What made you want to run for that office the first time and the second time, and what are your goals in that office for the remainder of your time in that role?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
I began getting an interest in serving as Attorney General — and my father ran in 1986 for it — when I was a sophomore in high school. I watched my dad as a prosecutor. As I grew up, I saw what opportunities there are, whether it’s as a State’s Attorney or in other roles. I was a State’s Attorney, many places call them a DA, in two small counties, and I relished the opportunity to do good with public safety. And in the Attorney General position, I’ve really experienced this in leadership roles, whether as chairman of the AGA, or now as chairman twice of the NAAG, the National Association of Attorneys General. We can further so many issues, especially as a united group. I love being a part of that, and I think it goes back to when you look at the South Dakota Attorney General, you truly are the chief law enforcement officer. I’ve had the opportunity to argue Wayfair in front of the United States Supreme Court. I’ve been able to work with my legislature to pass good legislation for South Dakota. And the attorney general position really allows you to do that. I started way back in this role in 2009.
Washington Reporter:
Can you talk about your role as AG, from when Obama was president to Trump to Biden, and how has your day job changed in terms of what you focused on?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
My day job has always been to serve as the number one chief law enforcement officer of the state, and so the presidency does not affect that role. As Attorney General, my role is to work with and supervise the State’s Attorneys. The South Dakota Attorney General is part of certifying every law enforcement officer. I have a crime lab, a forensic lab under the attorney general. We have our own police force called the DCI. So the presidency does not necessarily affect that role, but what I’ve seen it affect is the overall policies. I’m a conservative, and if you look at the different administrations, oftentimes, when it’s a Democrat administration, I find myself and other Republican attorneys general oftentimes on the offense, where we are bringing lawsuits, we are trying to bring in control the EPA when what they’re doing is hurting our states, the Corps of Engineers, those various aspects, whereas when it’s been a Republican administration, we’re working with them for policies that we all believe in, and we are oftentimes on the defense where we are joining lawsuits not as a plaintiff, but as the defense that we are defending those policies that are important, and I see that, not just in the courtroom, but on a legislative standpoint. I’ll use an example, the HALT Fentanyl Act. We AGs had been asking the Biden administration for years to get ahead of that. When President Trump came in, I was part of the America First transition legal team. We saw how important this was. We were able to work with the president to get not just legislation in place, but to further a lot of the different areas that we cared about, like limited government, controlling some of the federal regulatory agencies like the EPA, working with the USDA on issues that are important; those are the type of things and the differences that I’ve seen as the administrations have changed.
Washington Reporter:
How would you compare the Obama and Biden presidencies in terms of their executive power?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
Oftentimes, under the Obama and Biden administrations, we didn’t see a difference. We saw policies, whether it’s Waters of the United States that would have devastated our agriculture or others, we saw bad policies that required us to try and work with the White House, and we did try to speak to the administration, but to little effect. When you’re an attorney general, you have the ability to communicate with the Department of Justice. They’re going to take that phone call. And I’ve experienced that whether I’m a United States Attorney or whether I’m Attorney General, and we would oftentimes speak to the administration, but to no effect. Now, we have that relationship, that opportunity. It’s especially unique with me and Attorney General Pam Bondi. I served with AG Bondi for eight years. She was Florida’s Attorney General. I was South Dakota’s. I was chairman. I enjoyed that working relationship, and still enjoy it today. And so we get more of an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with results with the current DOJ.
Washington Reporter:
How would you rate Pam Bondi as Attorney General, and was there anything that you worked on when you were both AGs at the same time that you think you’d be in a good position to work on with her specific from your position, specifically in Congress?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
This interview would go hours if I had to talk about the opportunities I had to work with General Bondi. One of the issues that came to forefront was Obamacare, and how Florida really led that core group of attorneys general in addressing that, and that had important implications for South Dakota. Oftentimes, it’s talked about how that was a five to four decision on Obamacare, but really what happened is that we prevailed on the Medicaid side, which gave our states the opportunity and the time to be able to implement what ultimately happened with that. She was certainly a leader in the opioid fight. I look at South Dakota from that leadership right now, we brought in about $98.2 million; that was possible because of the work of General Bondi. I’ve been to the Department of Justice several times, I’ve been to her office, had good conversations about the work and partnerships that DOJ has and needs to have with the attorney general community.
Washington Reporter:
One of her priorities, and one of the president’s priorities, has been this crackdown on crime. Is that something that South Dakota needs the Trump administration’s help on?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
There’s an absolute need for it, because when you look at the partnerships, whether it’s the ICAC, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or others, that’s where we do exceptionally well together. DOJ is a partner, along with local law enforcement and the Attorney General. You look at all of our controlled substance operations, it’s always a federal, state, and local operation. Look at securing the border. What they’ve done on securing the border has been amazing. It’s helping keep the drugs out of my state. Time and time again, the work of the DOJ is important to attorneys general, and we’ve seen it with General Bondi.
Washington Reporter:
You are also the newly elected head of the National Association of Attorneys General; what are your priorities for that organization?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
When you look at the National Association of Attorneys General, there are 50 of us. The National Association of Attorneys General is a group of 50 attorney generals and those in the territories that come together about important issues. Public safety is one of those important issues. So as a president-elect of National Association of Attorneys General, that will always be my priority, is finding ways to work across party lines, with other AGs, to make communities safe, to further those issues that put America first. When you look overall at what we’re doing, we’re protecting consumers. We are building and strengthening ideas for public safety. We’re working together in a lot of different subjects that maybe sometimes differentiates us from Congress, and I think that’s important.
Washington Reporter:
What are areas that you think there could be perhaps surprising bipartisan work on with you and congressional Democrats in a year and a couple months?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
I think everybody recognizes there’s a need for a comprehensive immigration policy to try to work through that to protect America and to keep the drugs out of our states, as well as the illegal gun trade. Look at General Kwame Raoul and I have had bipartisan efforts to protect consumers. There are several different other areas, not just controlled substances, but I think there’s that opportunity, whether it’s immigration, protecting the public, to come together and find ways to put America first and to strengthen our laws.
Washington Reporter:
What ways are there similarities or differences in being Attorney General, serving as Attorney General, and running for federally elected office? How has that experience been similar or different?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
There are a lot of similarities in South Dakota because we have a lone congressional seat; I’m a four term Attorney General, so my election, it has a lot of similarities. Traveling statewide, talking to the people of South Dakota, and what I hear from the people of South Dakota has been very similar. It’s been the message of we want limited government. We want government accountability to protect the taxpayers. We want to see work getting done. What South Dakotans will never hear from me is saying, “I’m just one of 435.” They haven’t heard me say that as Attorney General, which is why I’ve been elected twice as chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General. I think that there’s a desire to see South Dakota’s Congressman recognize what’s important where government has its place. Even though we believe in limited government, we believe in a strong national defense, we have Ellsworth, which is why that is important. We recognize that there’s a federal component to agriculture and the help needed for value added agriculture. I’ve seen and had those conversations with constituents across South Dakota.
Washington Reporter:
Are there issues during this campaign that have emerged that you haven’t handled as AG, that now you’re learning to grapple with as a congressional candidate?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
The great part of being Attorney General is we see so many different subject matters. We’re not just limited to public safety, while that’s a key focus of what we do, when you look at the leadership the attorney generals have done, whether it be stopping bad things that are happening out of Washington, furthering issues that are important to our states, we’re involved in that civil litigation side, that regulatory side, so there haven’t been any surprise issues, and I don’t expect any.
Washington Reporter:
Can you tell us about John Thune? He’s America’s most prominent South Dakotan. How do you think he’s doing as Senate Majority Leader?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
I think he’s doing an excellent job. My opportunity in politics really began with Leader Thune. I was a young 34, 35 year old lawyer. I was a special assistant attorney general, but I was in private industry. I was in private practice, and Senator Thune gave me the opportunity as a young lawyer to serve as United States Attorney, which gave me further administrative experience and a broader political name recognition that really lifted me up to where I am now.
Washington Reporter:
Do you see that as emblematic of his leadership style? How does your long history with him give you an opportunity to prioritize South Dakota’s needs from the House Representatives side?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
He has shown strong leadership that has helped South Dakota. It has helped me as Attorney General. When the One Big, Beautiful Bill was going through and there were concerns with the AG community on AI, it was nice to be able to pick up the phone and have the conversation with the leader’s staff about what the AGs were looking for, how we wanted the One Big, Beautiful Bill, but there were aspects of AI that we needed help on, and Senator Thune made that happen.
Washington Reporter:
Can you talk about that? What was the AI concern that you had and that he was addressing?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
I’m a strong supporter of AI, I think it’s great innovation. I’m an electrical engineer. There are a lot of positive things can happen with it. I use it as a law enforcement tool to help victims and further investigations. There have been a few things with AI that we’ve had challenges with. One of the areas was the deep fakes, the child pornography that we were experiencing. So I, as Attorney General, brought legislation supported by Republicans and Democrats in South Dakota that put in place laws in place against child pornography. We’ve seen some election integrity issues, and we’ve been working on that in South Dakota. So the three areas that we want to see guardrails on and protection on are the pornography side, the election integrity side, and for consumers. And if you look at what was originally passed out of Congress, there was a moratorium on states putting in laws dealing with this, or states enforcing laws. What the Senate worked through, with the help of Senator Thune and what the AGs were asking for, is to recognize that AI needs to have innovation; it needs to have a fair, free market, but there’ll need to be guardrails, and Congress has to put those in place. We want to leave those state laws in place, and I haven’t seen anything from the administration or from the Congress or from the Senate, that doesn’t want to allow states to protect our citizens in that limited way.
Washington Reporter:
When you look at the House of Representatives, is there anyone in particular who stands out to you as someone who you want to style yourself after, who you think is a good role model?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
I’ve always been independent. I’ve been an independent leader. There are parts of different leadership that I might take, but I’ve always been an individual. My main priority in going to Congress is to continue to work hard to be that trusted voice for South Dakota, and to be a strong leader and to always put South Dakota and America first.
Washington Reporter:
Given your background, I would imagine that the Judiciary Committee is something that you would be interested in. To put the cart before the horse for a second, what committees do you feel like would be most of up your alley and of benefit to your constituents?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
Certainly I don’t want to put the cart before the horse; I’m working hard to get elected. I’m up 57 to five in the Mason Dixon public poll, but I’m taking it serious. I’m treating it like I’m five points behind. I recently had an opportunity to meet with Chairman Jim Jordan and I expressed my interest in the Judiciary Committee. Additionally, agriculture is so important to me personally, being a landowner of a ranch and a farm, as well as to my constituents, and the desire to see not just producers and our farmers taken care of, but seeing value added is important. I’ve expressed an interest in the Ag Committee, and I’ve expressed that interest to Speaker Johnson also in the meetings that we’ve had.
Washington Reporter:
Given your time as AG, is there anything that you think that you would want to focus on from the congressional side on the Judiciary Committee already?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
The interest I’ve expressed is I want to be where I can be most helpful. Having been United States Attorney, having been an Attorney General for four terms, having been a local DA in two smaller counties, I feel I have a lot to add to that. Certainly, that experience would be valuable. I’m hoping that I can take that experience that I’ve had in those different roles and bring it to Judiciary. Certainly, antitrust has always been important to me, both as the United States Attorney and as attorney general. So those are areas of interest.
Washington Reporter:
How many bolo ties have you encountered on the campaign trail across South Dakota during your various runs?
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
A lot. Hundreds. I love yours. I have some very unique bolo ties. My two favorite ones are one that my grandfather gave to me and one that was an award from a tribal chairman. I wear them once in a while. But unfortunately, I’m one of those guys who doesn’t like to wear any tie.
Washington Reporter:
No wonder you like Jim Jordan. Tell us a fun fact about Marty Jackley fact to close this interview.
Attorney General Marty Jackley:
The best facts about me are my kids. My son Michael is following in my footsteps to a degree; I was an electrical engineer. He’s graduating mechanical engineering from South Dakota this summer, and then he’ll be entering into law school. My daughter Izzy, is a sophomore in high school; she wants to be a veterinarian, and she’s also going to South Dakota, and it’s a long eight year program road, but that’s pretty exciting. The other fun fact is that I paid for a lot of my college by running track.
Washington Reporter:
Thanks so much for chatting, Attorney General Jackley.
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