2012 elections review: Four State House incumbents defeated in South Dakota primaries

June 6, 2012

By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams

In South Dakota, Tuesday's primary was marked by the defeat of four House incumbents. Mark K. Willadsen (R), R. Shawn Tornow (R), Mark E. Venner (R) and Mitch Fargen (D) all fell to primary opponents. Senator Thomas Nelson (R) also fell to a primary opponent.

Legislative incumbents seeking higher office also faced difficulties. Of the nine state representatives running for South Dakota Senate, four were defeated by their primary opponents. One of those defeats, however, may go to a recount.

Contested Primaries in South Dakota -- June 5, 2012
	U.S. House (1 districts)	State Legislature (72 districts)
Total Democratic Contested Primaries	1 (100%)	3 (4.2%)
Total Republican Contested Primaries	0 (0%)	27 (37.5%)

Congress

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in South Dakota, 2012

South Dakota has one At-Large Congressional District. Incumbent Kristi Noem was unopposed in the Republican primary after would-be challenger Stephanie Strong's candidate petition fell 37 signatures short. Matt Varilek, a staff member for U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson (D), defeated Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth in the Democratic primary.

Members of the U.S. House from South Dakota -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	0	0
	Republican Party	1	1
Total		1	1

State legislatures

See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2012 and South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2012

• Of the state's 105 incumbents, 74 (70.5%) are running for re-election, 21 (20.0%) are retiring, and 10 (9.5%) are term-limited.

• Nine incumbents (12.2% of those running) are running for re-election in a new district due to redistricting.

• In total, five South Dakota incumbents were defeated in Tuesday's primary election. A breakdown of those races is as follows.

• In House District 11, Christine M. Erickson and Jim Stalzer won the Republican nomination, beating out candidate Chris Karr and incumbent Mark K Willadsen.

• In House District 14, Anne C. Hajek and Larry P. Zikmund won the Republican nomination, beating out incumbent R. Shawn Tornow.

• In House District 24, Mary Duvall and Tim Rounds won the Republican nomination, beating out incumbent Mark E. Venner.

• In Senate District 31, Bob Ewing won the Republican nomination, defeating incumbent Thomas Nelson.

• District 8 incumbent Mitch Fargen was defeated in the District 15 Democratic primary by incumbent Patrick A. Kirschman and candidate Karen L. Soli. Fargen was displaced by 2010 Census redistricting.

• In total, only 22 incumbents (29.7% of those running) faced primary opponents--20 Republicans and two Democrats.

• After Tuesday's primary election, one South Dakota race is within the 2% margin of victory needed to call a recount.

• In Senate District 24, Jeff Monroe leads Tad Perry by only 36 in the race for the Republican nomination. The seat is open since incumbent Bob Gray (R) is term limited.

South Dakota State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	5	7
	Republican Party	30	28
Total		35	35

South Dakota House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	19	17
	Republican Party	50	53
	Vacancy	1	0
Total		70	70

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in South Dakota, 2012
• South Dakota State Senate elections, 2012
• South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2012

External links

• South Dakota Secretary of State, Unofficial Election Night Results, June 5, 2012