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South Dakota Attorney General election, 2022 (June 7 Republican primary)

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South Dakota Attorney General
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 29, 2022
Primary: June 7, 2022
Primary runoff: August 16, 2022
General: November 8, 2022
Pre-election incumbent(s):
Jason Ravnsborg (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in South Dakota
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2022
Impact of term limits in 2022
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
South Dakota
executive elections
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Secretary of State
Treasurer
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A Republican Party primary took place on June 7, 2022, in South Dakota to determine which candidate would earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's attorney general election on November 8, 2022. This page focuses on South Dakota's Republican Party Attorney General primary. For more in-depth information on South Dakota's Democratic Attorney General primary and the general election, see the following pages:

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Candidates and election results


State profile

Demographic data for South Dakota
 South DakotaU.S.
Total population:857,919316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):75,8113,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:85%73.6%
Black/African American:1.6%12.6%
Asian:1.2%5.1%
Native American:8.6%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.6%3%
Hispanic/Latino:3.3%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:90.9%86.7%
College graduation rate:27%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$50,957$53,889
Persons below poverty level:15.3%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Dakota

South Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Dakota, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Dakota had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More South Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Dakota and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for South Dakota, 2022
District Incumbent Party PVI
South Dakota's At-Large Dusty Johnson Ends.png Republican R+16


2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, South Dakota[2]
District Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
South Dakota's At-Large 35.6% 61.8%


2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2020 presidential election, 91.9% of South Dakotans lived in one of the state's 56 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 5.1% lived in one of five Solid Democratic counties. Overall, South Dakota was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in South Dakota following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

South Dakota presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 3 Democratic wins
  • 27 Republican wins
  • 1 other win
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winning Party R R R P[3] R R R R D D R R R R R R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from South Dakota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in South Dakota.

U.S. Senate election results in South Dakota
Race Winner Runner up
2020 65.7%Republican Party 34.3%Democratic Party
2016 71.8%Republican Party 28.2%Republican Party
2014 50.4%Republican Party 29.5%Democratic Party
2010 100%Republican Party Uncontested
2008 62.5%Democratic Party 37.5%Republican Party
Average 62.6 32.4

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of South Dakota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in South Dakota.

Gubernatorial election results in South Dakota
Race Winner Runner up
2018 51.0%Republican Party 47.6%Democratic Party
2014 70.5%Republican Party 25.4%Democratic Party
2010 61.5%Republican Party 38.5%Democratic Party
2006 61.7%Republican Party 36.1%Democratic Party
2002 56.8%Republican Party 41.9%Democratic Party
Average 60.3 37.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of South Dakota's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from South Dakota, November 2022
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 0 0
Republican 2 1 3
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 1 3

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in South Dakota's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in South Dakota, November 2022
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Kristi L. Noem
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Larry Rhoden
Secretary of State Republican Party Steve Barnett
Attorney General Republican Party Mark Vargo

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the South Dakota State Legislature as of November 2022.

South Dakota State Senate

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 3
     Republican Party 32
     Vacancies 0
Total 35

South Dakota House of Representatives

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 8
     Republican Party 62
     Vacancies 0
Total 70

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, South Dakota was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-nine years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in South Dakota and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for South Dakota
South Dakota United States
Population 814,180 308,745,538
Land area (sq mi) 75,809 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 84.3% 72.5%
Black/African American 2% 12.7%
Asian 1.5% 5.5%
Native American 8.8% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.2%
Other (single race) 0.8% 4.9%
Multiple 2.6% 3.3%
Hispanic/Latino 3.8% 18%
Education
High school graduation rate 91.7% 88%
College graduation rate 28.8% 32.1%
Income
Median household income $58,275 $62,843
Persons below poverty level 13.1% 13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

South Dakota State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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South Dakota State Executive Offices
South Dakota State Legislature
South Dakota Courts
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
South Dakota elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  2. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
  3. ↑ Progressive Party
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