Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

BJ Motley

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
BP-Initials-UPDATED.png
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
BJ Motley
Image of BJ Motley
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Contact

BJ Motley (Democratic Party) ran for election to the South Dakota House of Representatives to represent District 14. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Elections

2024

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 14 (2 seats)

Incumbent Taylor Rae Rehfeldt and Tony Kayser defeated Keith Block and BJ Motley in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 14 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Taylor Rae Rehfeldt
Taylor Rae Rehfeldt (R)
 
33.4
 
7,833
Image of Tony Kayser
Tony Kayser (R)
 
27.2
 
6,389
Image of Keith Block
Keith Block (D)
 
21.3
 
4,991
Image of BJ Motley
BJ Motley (D)
 
18.1
 
4,253

Total votes: 23,466
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Keith Block and BJ Motley advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 14.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 14 (2 seats)

Incumbent Taylor Rae Rehfeldt and Tony Kayser defeated incumbent Tyler Tordsen in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 14 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Taylor Rae Rehfeldt
Taylor Rae Rehfeldt
 
38.9
 
1,205
Image of Tony Kayser
Tony Kayser
 
35.2
 
1,091
Image of Tyler Tordsen
Tyler Tordsen
 
26.0
 
805

Total votes: 3,101
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Motley in this election.

2018

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 25 (2 seats)

Jon Hansen and incumbent Tom Pischke defeated incumbent Dan Ahlers and BJ Motley in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 25 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jon Hansen
Jon Hansen (R)
 
32.0
 
5,982
Image of Tom Pischke
Tom Pischke (R)
 
28.2
 
5,272
Image of Dan Ahlers
Dan Ahlers (D) Candidate Connection
 
27.7
 
5,174
Image of BJ Motley
BJ Motley (D) Candidate Connection
 
12.1
 
2,266

Total votes: 18,694
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 25 (2 seats)

Incumbent Dan Ahlers and BJ Motley advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 25 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Dan Ahlers
Dan Ahlers Candidate Connection
Image of BJ Motley
BJ Motley Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 25 (2 seats)

Jon Hansen and incumbent Tom Pischke defeated Tamera Enalls in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 25 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jon Hansen
Jon Hansen
 
41.7
 
1,450
Image of Tom Pischke
Tom Pischke
 
36.7
 
1,277
Tamera Enalls
 
21.6
 
751

Total votes: 3,478
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

BJ Motley did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

BJ Motley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Motley's responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Education, Living wage, and Affordable Healthcare

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Early Childhood Start Programs. Because early education is very vital in developing the minds of our children. When children are young, they are learning sponges. Every new experience, every word they learn, every behavior they adopt, is an investment in a more fruitful future.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My Mother, She always said treat others with respect and dignity and success will follow. Listen, Listen, Listen is the key to a positive future.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Gods Dream by Will Mancini and Bird Warren

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A good listener and putting people first before party.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm a good listener, I put people first, we are all different but we fight for the same reason to be able to give our families a good life. To learn from our mistakes and make sure we provide a better future for our next generation.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To make sure we do right by the people.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I made a difference in making someone's life better.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Watching snow fall in Florida, I was 11 years old

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Picking oranges in the Florida citrus groves. 16 years.

What happened on your most awkward date?

Actually never had a awkward date

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

Christmas, because seeing all the happiness and joy in people faces. the love, the joy. It just makes me feel at peace.

What is your favorite book? Why?

God Dreams by Warren Bird and Will Mancini. Because it gives you insight on how to become a leader. The ground rules in the development of not being selfish, to listen, focus and not be judgemental.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Vision

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

My Clocks, because I have a fascination of time.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Temptations, My Girl

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Trying to get people to speak up when they feel helpless and mistreated

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

Trying to decide what's best for the people

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

A little, but we also need new fresh ideas to initiate change.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

The growing Diversity

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

Some what neutral

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes, because we are all in this together. Though we might have different idea we still must do right for the purpose of making it better for families.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Just to make it fair.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.


Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


BJ Motley campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* South Dakota House of Representatives District 14Lost general$30,949 $0
2018South Dakota House of Representatives District 25Lost general$6,350 N/A**
Grand total$37,299 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also


External links

Footnotes


Leadership
Speaker of the House:Jon Hansen
Majority Leader:Scott Odenbach
Minority Leader:Erin Healy
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Kent Roe (R)
District 5
Matt Roby (R)
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26A
District 26B
District 27
District 28A
Jana Hunt (R)
District 28B
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
Republican Party (63)
Democratic Party (6)