Kea Warne out at Secretary of State’s office

PIERRE, S.D. - Kea Warne will no longer be with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office, after 24 years of service.

Warne confirmed the news to Dakota News Now/KOTA Territory in a statement Monday.

“On Friday I was informed that they would not be offering me a position with their administration,” Warne said.

Warne started in the office under former Secretary Joyze Hazeltine in 1993. Since then, Warne has served under five different Secretaries, only resigning before Jason Gant took office in 2011, and returning to the office after his departure. She has served as the Director of the Division of Elections since 2019, and had previously served as Deputy Secretary of State under Shantel Krebs.

Warne’s departure comes less than a month after Monae Johnson was appointed to the position early by Governor Kristi Noem, to replace outgoing Secretary Steve Barnett. Johnson defeated Barnett at the Republican convention in June.

Johnson refused to respond to inquiries about Warne leaving the office, and also opted not to respond to rumors that others were also asked to leave the office.

Johnson announced that former Speaker of the House Tom Deadrick would be her Deputy Secretary in November. Her first full term will officially start on January 7th.