Casey Crabtree
Casey Crabtree was born in Arlington, South Dakota and raised in the Lake County area, earning a business degree from Northern State University where he played college football. He lives in Madison with his wife Ashley — an optometrist who runs Madison Vision Clinic — and their two sons, Casyn and Callan. He works as Director of Economic Development for Heartland Energy, a nonprofit public power cooperative, and has represented Senate District 8 since being appointed by Governor Noem in June 2020, rising to Senate Majority Leader in 2023–24.
Why they’re
Sensible
Casey Crabtree has been one of South Dakota's most consequential state legislators of the past decade — leading the Senate as Majority Leader through two of its busiest sessions, shepherding the state's largest-ever tax cut (4.5% → 4.2% sales tax, saving ~$500M over four years), and personally sponsoring the housing infrastructure fund that has since catalyzed more than 6,000 new lots and 3,700 multi-family units statewide. A former college athlete who describes politics as "addition, not subtraction," he runs his caucus on listening first and legislating second. He steered the Senate through the first-ever impeachment and removal of a South Dakota statewide officeholder with composure and unanimity. District 8 — Lake, Kingsbury, Brookings, and Deuel counties — gets a legislator who grew up in its towns, works in its economy, and keeps coming back.
Key positions
“The Legislature invested $200 million into the Workforce Housing Infrastructure Fund… 57 projects have received investments leading to the development of more than 6,000 single-family lots and 3,700 multi-family units.”
“Agriculture is our number one industry; it's $8 billion bigger than our second largest industry… this is a property protection, property rights bill for farmers and ranchers.”
“It's not just listening. It's working hard to understand exactly where your colleagues are coming from and what they want to achieve, and then pulling that together into a collective goal.”
“The Legislature passed the largest tax cut in the state's history this year, which will save taxpayers an estimated $500 million in the next four years.”
Also running for
SD State Senate · District 08
Every other candidate filed for this seat, listed for transparency. Our Sensible slate reflects the full field — not just a single pick.