John Carley

John Carley

Republican Party

South Dakota State Senate District 29

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Biola University, 2005

Personal

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

John Carley (Republican Party) is a member of the South Dakota State Senate, representing District 29. He assumed office on January 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Carley (Republican Party) ran for election to the South Dakota State Senate to represent District 29. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Carley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

John Carley earned a bachelor's degree from Biola University in 2005. His career experience includes working as a business owner. He has been affiliated with the American Legion, National Religious Broadcasters, National Rifle Association, South Dakota Right to Life, Family Voice, Family Research Council, and Chamber of Commerce.

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Carley was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee
• Senate Appropriations Committee

Elections

2024

See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for South Dakota State Senate District 29

John Carley won election in the general election for South Dakota State Senate District 29 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Carley (R)	100.0	8,634

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,634
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 29

John Carley defeated Kirk Chaffee in the Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 29 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Carley	59.3	1,985
		Kirk Chaffee	40.7	1,362

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,347
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Carley in this election.

2022

See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for South Dakota State Senate District 29

Dean Wink won election in the general election for South Dakota State Senate District 29 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dean Wink (R)	100.0	7,272

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,272
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 29

Dean Wink defeated John Carley and Beka Zerbst in the Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 29 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dean Wink	50.7	2,112
		John Carley	37.2	1,552
	Submit photo	Beka Zerbst	12.1	505

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,169
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Carley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Carley's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Businessman for past 30 years. Married for 25 years to one wife. Family of 5 kids. Dedicated follower of Christ and honoring Biblical values. BS Degree in Organizational Leadership. Run several successful businesses. Serve on several local and national boards. GOP Precinct Committeeman. Military Vet family. Engaged in the community. Willing to serve.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Constitutional Liberties
• Cutting Tax and Spending
• Cherishing Families

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Voting consistently True Conservative and Republican Values, Election Integrity, Property Tax Relief, Protection of First and Second Amendment, Pro Life

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Jesus.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Reagan Biography

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Biblical values. Honesty. Follow the US Constitution, SD Constitution, Republican party platform. Transparency.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Listener. Communicator. Solution oriented.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To represent the republican conservative people in our area, to faithfully read and write bills. To vote for good laws and vote against laws that harm our citizens.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Ice cream store, Bank Teller, Security Guard, Programmer, Emergency Medical Technician, Businessman

What is your favorite book? Why?

Bible. Has instructions for eternal life, joy, wisdom, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self control.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Work together to advance good bills for our citizens and prevent bad bills from harming our citizens.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

To keep our legislature voting for true republican principals. To reduce tax and spending.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Having experience in business tends to have more benefit to state legislators because you have experienced employee/employer taxes, hiring/firing, budgets, not spending more than you take in, working through economic changes, modernizing and optimizing, engagement with non profit and government entities and more.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Absolutely. Everyone should be treated with respect and the principle in the bible of James 1:19 be quick to hear, slow to speak is important. I love building relationships.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A resident of our area could not afford the huge property tax increases on her home on a fixed income. She was disappointed our current legislators have not done anything about this over the past 5-10 years. She came and asked for a job from us to help her pay her property taxes, even at her older age where many may not hire her. We hired her and she's one of the best people we have employed.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Yes. Only in true emergencies, after thoroughly vetting whether it's truly an emergency by not believing the media hype and jumping to conclusions. Reason, patience, wisdom are critical.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

Property tax relief. Election integrity. Property right protection.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Dakota First, Young Americans for Liberty, people from Family Heritage Alliance, people form SD Right to Life, people from Citizens for Liberty, Liberty Pilot, BiblicalVoter

What committees interest you?

Health, State Affairs, Education, Taxation

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Need more financial transparency and government accountability through communication and faithful scorecards.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

John Carley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Carley's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

John Carley is running for South Dakota State Senate District 29 (encompassing Meade County, and parts of Pennington/Butte county). John is a local businessman and landowner who is interested in preserving our conservative South Dakota values in a quickly changing world. John is a principled Christian, patriot, an experienced leader, board member, husband, and father. We need to vote in true conservative leadership.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Preserve True Conservative Values
• Protect our Rights and Families
• Cut Spending and Taxes

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We need people in leadership that would restrain the hand of tyranny, reduce out of control spending and restore our constitutional rights.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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John Carley campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	South Dakota State Senate District 29	Won general	$40,089	$0
2022	South Dakota State Senate District 29	Lost primary	$25,200	$0
Grand total			$65,289	$0
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in South Dakota

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Dakota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

See also

2024 Elections

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Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

South Dakota State Senate District 29

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	South Dakota State Senate District 29 2025-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the South Dakota State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Jim Mehlhaff

Minority Leader:Liz Larson

Senators

District 1

Michael Rohl (R)

District 2

Steve Kolbeck (R)

District 3

Carl Perry (R)

District 4

Stephanie Sauder (R)

District 5

Glen Vilhauer (R)

District 6

Ernie Otten (R)

District 7

Tim Reed (R)

District 8

Casey Crabtree (R)

District 9

Joy Hohn (R)

District 10

Liz Larson (D)

District 11

Chris Karr (R)

District 12

Arch Beal (R)

District 13

Sue Peterson (R)

District 14

Larry Zikmund (R)

District 15

Jamie Smith (D)

District 16

Kevin Jensen (R)

District 17

Sydney Davis (R)

District 18

Lauren Nelson (R)

District 19

Kyle Schoenfish (R)

District 20

Paul Miskimins (R)

District 21

MyKala Voita (R)

District 22

Brandon Wipf (R)

District 23

Mark Lapka (R)

District 24

Jim Mehlhaff (R)

District 25

Tom Pischke (R)

District 26

Tamara Grove (R)

District 27

Red Foster (D)

District 28

J. Marty (R)

District 29

John Carley (R)

District 30

Amber Hulse (R)

District 31

Randy Deibert (R)

District 32

Helene Duhamel (R)

District 33

Curt Voight (R)

District 34

Taffy Howard (R)

District 35

Greg Blanc (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (3)