A West River state’s attorney running to be a judge in the Fourth Circuit has been told to step down from positions he holds within his political party and to stop endorsing candidates.

The South Dakota Special Committee on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention last month received a formal complaint against John Fitzgerald alleging a series of judicial campaign violations, including holding office in a political organization while seeking a judicial office and publicly endorsing a candidate for sheriff in Meade County.

Fitzgerald contended in a response to the committee that his positions as a Republican Party committeeman and a member of the Lawrence County Republican Party Central Committee do not violate the Code of Judicial Conduct that governs judicial candidates because those are not “political organizations.”

NEWS: Kristi Noem makes $700K ad buy ahead of Election Day as Smith launches statewide tour