Chris Nelson

Chris Nelson
South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner
Incumbent
In office
January 8, 2011 - Present
Term ends
2017
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$91,390
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 6, 2102
Next election	November 8, 2016
Campaign $	$271,653
Appointed	January 2011
Appointed by	Gov. Dennis Daugaard
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
South Dakota Secretary of State
2002 - 2010
Education
High school	White Lake High School
Bachelor's	South Dakota State University (1987)
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Chris Nelson (born August 18, 1964 in Mitchell, South Dakota) is the current vice chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission and a former Republican South Dakota Secretary of State. He was first appointed to the position on January 8, 2011 by Governor Dennis Daugaard to fill a vacancy on the commission. He won election to the remaining 4 years of the position's 6-year term in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Biography

Prior to his appointment to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission in 2011, Nelson served as Secretary of State from 2002 to 2010. Before that, Nelson was state election supervisor in the Secretary of State's office for 13 years and uniform commercial code supervisor in the same office for two years.

Nelson has also served in the following roles:

• Member, National Governor's Association
• Representative, National Governor's Association, United States Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors, 2005.

Education

• White Lake High School
• BS, Animal science, South Dakota State University (1978)

Political career

Public Service Commission (2011-Present)

Nelson was appointed to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission by Gov. Dennis Daugaard on January 8, 2011 to fill a vacancy left when Dusty Johnson left the commission to become Daugaard's chief of staff. He was named chairman of the commission in January 2012.

Secretary of State (2002-2010)

Nelson is a former Republican South Dakota Secretary of State, first elected to the statewide position in 2002 and subsequently re-elected to the office in 2006. He had announced in October 2009 that he would be challenging State Representatives Kristi Lynn Noem and Blake Curd for the Republican nomination in the race for the 2010 United States House of Representatives seat. He failed to receive the party nomination after placing second in the primary contest, garnering nearly thirty-five percent of the vote. Prior to being elected to the office of Secretary of State in 2002, Chris Nelson held the position of Uniform Commercial Code Supervisor for two years beginning in 1987 and State Election Supervisor from 1989-2002. Both roles fell under the supervision of the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Elections

2012

See also: South Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Nelson announced on February 17 that he would seek election to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission in 2012. While terms on the commission are for six years, Nelson was appointed in January 2011 and state election law requires election be held for the remaining four years of the term. He was officially nominated at the state Republican convention in June.

Nelson defeated one challenger, Democrat Nick Nemec, in the general election on November 6, 2012.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Seat 1 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Nelson Incumbent	67%	226,508
	Democratic	Nick Nemec	33%	111,405
Total Votes				337,913
Election Results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

2010

2010 Race for United States House of Representatives - Republican Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Kristi Lynn Noem	56.2%
	Republican Party	Chris Nelson	34.6%
	Republican Party	Richard Blake Curd	23.3%
Total Votes			82,041

2006

• 2006 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary and General Election

• Chris Nelson ran unopposed in both contests, the first time this has occurred in the state's history.

2002

• 2002 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary

• Chris Nelson ran unopposed in this contest

2002 Race for Secretary of State - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Chris Nelson	56.2%
	Democratic Party	Kate Looby	41.4%
	Libertarian Party	Alex Martin	2.4%
Total Votes			323,335

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Nelson is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Nelson raised a total of $271,653 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 10, 2013.

Chris Nelson's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	SD Public Utilities Commissioner		$45,899
2008	SD Secretary of State		$31,703
2006	SD Secretary of State		$33,193
2004	SD Secretary of State		$15,595
2002	SD Secretary of State		$145,263
Grand Total Raised			$271,653

2002-2006

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Chris Nelson's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Chris Nelson's Campaign Contributions
	2006 South Dakota Secretary of State		2002 South Dakota Secretary of State
Total Raised	$33,193		$145,263
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	n/a		$147,859
Top 5 contributors	South Dakota Republican Party	$7,310	South Dakota Republican Party	$48,269
	Paul & Kim Knecht	$1,000	Chris Nelson	$22,884
	John & Michelle Nagel	$1,000	Tom Huber	$2,000
	South Dakota Beer Wholesale Association	$600	Sara Huber	$1,500
	Second Century Political Action and 2 individual donors	$500 each	Second Century PAC, Northwestern Energy, Hughes County Republicans and 7 individual donors	$1,000 each
Individuals	$5,840		$32,383
Institutions	$3,049		$5,275
In-state donations	$30,891		$143,163
Out-of-state donations	$250		$2,100

Personal

Chris Nelson currently resides with his wife, Penny, and his daughter, Rebekah, in Pierre, South Dakota. He also maintains a part-time cattle operation.

Awards

• Excellence in South Dakota Municipal Government Award (2003)
• Hazeltine and Taylor Award (2004)
• Election Center’s Professional Practices Program State Award (2009)

See also

• South Dakota Secretary of State
• South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
• Chris Nelson for Congress Facebook profile
• Chris Nelson's Twitter Account
• Project Vote Smart - Chris Nelson biography
• Chris Nelson on LinkedIn
• Campaign donors: 2012, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002

References

Political offices
Preceded by '	South Dakota Public Utilities Commission 2011-Present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by Joyce Hazeltine	South Dakota Secretary of State 2002–2010	Succeeded by Jason Gant (R)