Secretary of State Chris Nelson could pay a political price in 2010 for his aggressive pursuit of an anonymous donor of $750,000 during a 2006 statewide campaign to ban abortion in South Dakota.

The Republican U.S. House candidate established himself over the years as a subtle conservative with soft-spoken anti-abortion credentials. But he alienated a segment of the pro-life community when he pursued in court the identity of the anti-abortion donor.

Voters rejected the proposed ban in 2006, and again, in a revised form, in 2008. And Nelson ultimately dropped his protracted legal battle aimed at forcing the donor’s identity to be revealed. He also lost the support of at least some in the anti-abortion voting bloc that could matter to Republican House candidates in the June primary.

“Everybody was confused. He kept appealing and appealing and appealing,” said Dr. Allen Unruh, a Sioux Falls chiropractor and long-time abortion foe. “All I can say is different people are questioning why Chris did that. And I think he’s got reservations about why he did it now, too.”

Nelson is aware of those reservations and their potential to cost him votes in June. But he doesn’t second-guess his decision to push the case, based his understanding of campaign finance law and advice from the state attorney general.

“There are still folks out there who believe I should not have pursued what both the attorney general and I felt the law was,” Nelson said. “Yeah, those folks are still out there. And they’re entitled to their opinion. But the attorney general and I both felt that the law required the reporting of that name.”

It’s a name that Republican state Rep. Roger Hunt of Brandon refused to reveal. Hunt, a lawyer and well-known abortion foe, accepted the anonymous donation through his Promising Future Inc. The corporation seemed to exist solely to provide a corporate shield to protect the anonymous donor. Promising Future donated $750,000 to the VoteYesForLife.com committee, which was coordinating the anti-abortion campaign.

Hunt contended that state campaign finance laws didn’t require him to name the donor. Nelson and the state attorney general disagreed with Hunt and went to court. After three years, they lost a key decision in circuit court last November and decided not to pursue it further.

“The court essentially said that we didn’t have a legal avenue to get at this issue,” Nelson said. “So far as doing what I did, I believe it was my job. I’m not too concerned about the political implications. I’m concerned about doing my job.”

Changes in state law made after the Promising Future donation sought to make that part of campaign financial regulations more transparent.

Nelson’s persistence in the legal case doesn’t surprise Joyce Hazeltine of Custer, who served as secretary of state for 16 years, most with Nelson as her elections supervisor. When Hazeltine retired, she supported Nelson in the secretary of state campaign in 2002. He won there and again in 2006, when he ran unopposed.

Hazeltine supports Nelson’s House campaign as well, calling him “top-notch.” She said Nelson found himself in a difficult spot in the Promising Future case, one that a secretary of state would prefer to avoid.

“It is unusual. But I think Chris was interpreting the law as he saw it. And he is that adamant about his beliefs about his job that I think he probably thought, ‘Well, I’ll take my chances,’” Hazeltine said. “I’m sure he knew that he would lose some votes.”

It’s too soon to calculate how many votes that could be. But there are no signs yet that Nelson was deeply damaged, based on surveys of likely South Dakota voters in early December and just last week.

Nelson was only 7 percentage points behind incumbent Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in hypothetical match-ups in both polls. In the most recent poll by Rasmussen Reports, he got 38 percent to Herseth Sandlin’s 45 percent.

Herseth Sandlin had 49 percent against state Rep. Kristi Noem, who had 34 percent. And the Democrat had 51 percent against state Rep. Blake Curd, with 33 percent.

But those polls represent a cross-section of South Dakota voters. Nelson will be dealing with a different, more ideologically narrow group in the primary election, where conservative Christians could withhold votes.

Some might already have withheld money. Nelson managed to raise about $56,000 for his House campaign between his announcement in early October and the end of 2009. State Rep. Blake Curd, who announced at the same time, raised $181,000.

Curd also got an endorsement from Hunt, one of two dozen such endorsements from state legislators so far. Hunt didn’t respond to repeated Journal attempts to interview him.

Not all Republican voters with strong anti-abortion opinions resent Nelson’s actions against Promising Future. Rapid City businessman Bob Fischer said Nelson was “just doing his job” in seeking the identity of the donor.

“I feel very strongly that Roger Hunt was in the right on that issue and knew what he was doing,” Fischer said. “But I believe Chris has very solid credentials in being pro-life. I do not hold any animus toward him in pursuing that issue.”

Fischer did say, however, that it is important for Nelson to do more campaigning and make more personal contacts with Republican voters.

“I think he’s a really good candidate. But he needs to get out more,” Fischer said.

Nelson’s campaign got more complicated two weeks ago, when three more Republicans said they were candidates in the GOP House primary. Tarn Vieira of the North Sioux City area was known to few party officials when he said he was running. And his proclamation was lost in the rapid-fire announcements of state Rep. Kristi Noem of Castlewood and evangelical minister Steve Hickey of Sioux Falls.

Republican Party officials said the sudden surge of candidates shows that Herseth Sandlin is beatable and the GOP is energized by the prospects of taking back the state’s only U.S. House seat. Democratic officials said it showed that at least some Republicans clearly were not satisfied with either Nelson or Curd.

Curd had already taken some criticism from within the party following a Journal story that revealed his $2,000 campaign donation to former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004, and a $1,000 donation to Herseth Sandlin a year later.

Added to Nelson’s Promising Future dispute, Curd’s revelation had some in the conservative Christian community looking elsewhere for a Republican challenger.

“I think that assessment of those two guys is accurate,” Hickey said.

Some looked to Hickey, and he entered the race. But within hours of his announcement, he learned of Noem’s. Hickey said he wouldn’t have run if he had known her plans.

“She left me a voice mail a couple of days earlier, and I just didn’t get it,” he said.

Less than a week after he entered the race, Hickey withdrew. He also endorsed Noem, saying he didn’t want to divide the vote that would go to her.

Hickey said he entered to provide an alternative to Nelson and Curd. He had worked on the abortion issues in 2006 and 2008, and on behalf of Republican John Thune during his hard-fought campaign win against Daschle in 2004.

Hickey said he and others will have trouble forgetting that Curd gave $2,000 to Daschle.

“I’d say I’m unable to get past the fact that when we were all fighting for John Thune, he was writing checks to Tom Daschle, as well as that Stephanie Herseth endorsement,” Hickey said. “He seems to be a bit of mystery flavor. It’s a big deal.”

On Nelson, Hickey said: “Chris is a great guy. I have nothing but good things to say about him.” But he also believes that Curd and Nelson carry baggage that Noem doesn’t.

“I feel like Kristi has kind of the full package that can beat Stephanie in November,” Hickey said. “And she represents all the things I care about.”

The anti-abortion cause is high on that care list. And Noem said she won’t let anti-abortion forces down on that issue.

“I am pro-life and have always been pro-life. And I don’t think anyone has ever questioned that about me,” she said. “I guess I do feel like I have the whole package.”

Curd doesn’t back down on the abortion issue, however. He voted for the abortion proposals and promises to carry that philosophy to Congress.

“I don’t know how you would categorize me as anything other than 100 percent pro-life,” he said. “I’m pretty proud of the fact that even Roger Hunt has endorsed my candidacy.”

Where does that leave Nelson? Where he’s always been, he said.

“I am solidly pro-life. The folks who know me know that,” Nelson said. “This issue with Promising Future was never about the life issue. It is entirely about the campaign finance laws of this state.”

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com