Taffy D. Howard (née Chewning) is an American politician in the South Dakota Senate. She formerly served from 2017 to 2023 as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 33rd district as a Republican. She unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House to represent South Dakota's at-large congressional district in 2022.
Howard was born in Decatur, Georgia. Raised in a military family, she moved to South Dakota as a teenager and graduated from Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the South Dakota State University.
Howard served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1990 to 1994. She was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives in November 2016 and assumed office on January 10, 2017. Howard also serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in South Dakota, Howard announced her intention to introduce legislation that would prevent private businesses from making vaccination mandatory for employees.
In 2022, Howard supported legislation that would make it legal for doctors to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID-19. There was no evidence to indicate that the drug was effective in treating COVID and there was nothing that prohibited doctors from prescribing it.
On August 2, 2021, Howard filed a statement of organization with the Federal Elections Commission to form an exploratory committee for the 2022 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota. On October 12, 2021, Howard officially announced that she would challenge U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson in the Republican primary. On June 7, 2021, Johnson defeated Howard, 59%âÂÂ41%.