Karla Lems

Karla Lems

Republican Party

Candidate, Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota

South Dakota House of Representatives District 16

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Compensation

Base salary

$13,436/year

Per diem

$166/day for legislators who reside more than 50 miles away from the capitol

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Personal

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Official website

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Karla Lems (Republican Party) is a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, representing District 16. She assumed office on January 10, 2023. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Lems (Republican Party) is running for election for Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Karla Lems' career experience includes owning a business.

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

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Lems was assigned to the following committees:

• House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
• House Local Government Committee

Elections

2026

See also: South Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota

Karla Lems is running in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Karla Lems (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Endorsements

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2024

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Incumbent Karla Lems and Richard Vasgaard defeated Matt Ness in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karla Lems (R)	43.5	7,960
✔		Richard Vasgaard (R)	40.5	7,407
	Submit photo	Matt Ness (D)	16.0	2,918

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,285
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Matt Ness advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Incumbent Karla Lems and Richard Vasgaard defeated Brian Burge in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karla Lems	48.2	2,133
✔		Richard Vasgaard	35.5	1,570
	Submit photo	Brian Burge	16.3	720

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,423
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lems in this election.

Pledges

Lems signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Karla Lems and incumbent Kevin Jensen defeated Matt Ness in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karla Lems (R)	41.0	5,951
✔		Kevin Jensen (R)	40.1	5,825
	Submit photo	Matt Ness (D)	18.9	2,744

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,520
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Matt Ness advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Karla Lems and incumbent Kevin Jensen defeated incumbent Richard Vasgaard in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 16 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karla Lems	35.6	1,848
✔		Kevin Jensen	33.3	1,733
		Richard Vasgaard	31.1	1,616

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,197
= 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.
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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Karla Lems has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Karla Lems asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Karla Lems, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

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You can ask Karla Lems to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing info@hansenlems2026.com.

2024

Karla Lems did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Karla Lems did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

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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Karla Lems campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	South Dakota House of Representatives District 16	Won general	$27,631	$0
2022	South Dakota House of Representatives District 16	Won general	$31,637	$0
Grand total			$59,268	$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.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 26. Elevate Rapid City Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community. Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. SD Citizens For Liberty Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. South Dakota Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 27. Elevate Rapid City Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community. Family Heritage Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. SD Citizens For Liberty Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Officeholder

South Dakota House of Representatives District 16

Website

Personal

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Footnotes

2026 state executive official elections

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Treasurer

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Auditor

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Comptroller

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[show]

Current members of the South Dakota House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Jon Hansen

Majority Leader:Scott Odenbach

Minority Leader:Erin Healy

Representatives

District 1

Nicholas Fosness (R)

Logan Manhart (R)

District 2

David Kull (R)

John Sjaarda (R)

District 3

Al Novstrup (R)

Brandei Schaefbauer (R)

District 4

Dylan Jordan (R)

Kent Roe (R)

District 5

Josephine Garcia (R)

Matt Roby (R)

District 6

Aaron Aylward (R)

Tim Czmowski (R)

District 7

Roger DeGroot (R)

Mellissa Heermann (R)

District 8

Tim Reisch (R)

Tim Walburg (R)

District 9

Tesa Schwans (R)

Bethany Soye (R)

District 10

Bobbi Andera (R)

Erin Healy (D)

District 11

Brian Mulder (R)

Keri Weems (R)

District 12

Amber Arlint (R)

Greg Jamison (R)

District 13

John Hughes (R)

Jack Kolbeck (R)

District 14

Tony Kayser (R)

Taylor Rehfeldt (R)

District 15

Erik Muckey (D)

Kadyn Wittman (D)

District 16

Karla Lems (R)

District 17

Chris Kassin (R)

William Shorma (R)

District 18

Julie Auch (R)

Mike Stevens (R)

District 19

Jessica Bahmuller (R)

Drew Peterson (R)

District 20

Jeff Bathke (R)

Kaley Nolz (R)

District 21

Jim Halverson (R)

Marty Overweg (R)

District 22

Lana Greenfield (R)

Kevin Van Diepen (R)

District 23

Spencer Gosch (R)

Scott Moore (R)

District 24

Will Mortenson (R)

Mike Weisgram (R)

District 25

Jon Hansen (R)

Leslie Heinemann (R)

District 26A

Eric Emery (D)

District 26B

Rebecca Reimer (R)

District 27

Elizabeth May (R)

Peri Pourier (D)

District 28A

Jana Hunt (R)

District 28B

Travis Ismay (R)

District 29

Terri Jorgenson (R)

Kathy Rice (R)

District 30

Tim Goodwin (R)

Trish Ladner (R)

District 31

Mary Fitzgerald (R)

Scott Odenbach (R)

District 32

Steve Duffy (R)

Nicole Uhre-Balk (D)

District 33

Phil Jensen (R)

Curt Massie (R)

District 34

Heather Baxter (R)

Mike Derby (R)

District 35

Tina Mulally (R)

Tony Randolph (R)

Republican Party (63)

Democratic Party (6)