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Lauren Nelson (South Dakota)
2025 - Present
2027
0
Lauren Nelson (Republican Party) is a member of the South Dakota State Senate, representing District 18. She assumed office on January 14, 2025. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.
Nelson (Republican Party) ran for election to the South Dakota State Senate to represent District 18. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Lauren Nelson was born in Sinai, South Dakota. She earned a bachelor's degree from South Dakota State University. Her career experience includes working as a teacher.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for South Dakota State Senate District 18
Lauren Nelson defeated Sarah Carda in the general election for South Dakota State Senate District 18 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lauren Nelson (R) | 57.2 | 6,189 |
| Sarah Carda (D) | 42.8 | 4,629 | ||
| Total votes: 10,818 | |||
 = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dennis Menke (D)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Dennis Menke advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota State Senate District 18.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 18
Lauren Nelson defeated incumbent Jean Hunhoff in the Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 18 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lauren Nelson | 52.0 | 1,235 |
 | Jean Hunhoff | 48.0 | 1,139 | |
| Total votes: 2,374 | |||
| = 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 Nelson in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lauren Nelson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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.
Scorecards
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
External links
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
South Dakota State Senate District 18 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
