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South Dakota election preview, 2024
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Last updated: Sept. 27, 2024
Thousands of general elections are taking place across the United States on Nov. 5, 2024. Those elections include offices at the federal, state, and local levels. This is one of 50 pages in which Ballotpedia previews the elections happening in each state as part of the Daily Brew’s 50 states in 25 days series.
This page provides an overview of all elections happening in South Dakota within our coverage scope on Nov. 5, 2024. Those elections include one for South Dakota's at-large U.S. House District, all 35 state senators and 70 state representatives, and one state Supreme Court justice. Additionally, there are seven statewide ballot measure on the ballot in South Dakota. This page also includes more information about election day in South Dakota, including:
- How to vote in South Dakota
- The elected offices that South Dakota voters can expect to see on their ballots
- The races in South Dakota that Ballotpedia is covering as battlegrounds
- The ballot measures that voters in South Dakota will decide on
- Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
- The partisan balance of South Dakota's congressional delegation and state government
- Past presidential election results in South Dakota
- The competitiveness of legislative elections in South Dakota
- The candidates who are on the ballot in South Dakota
Voting information
- See also: Voting in South Dakota
What's on the ballot?
2024 elections
- See also: South Dakota elections, 2024
At the federal level, South Dakota voters will elect one U.S. Representative from the South Dakota's at-large U.S. House District. To learn more about the congressional election in South Dakota, click here.
One state executive office is up for election: Public Service Commissioner.
All 105 state legislative seats in the Legislature are up for election, including all 70 seats in the House and all 35 seats in the Senate. There are 22 open seats in the House and 14 open seats in the Senate.
One seat on the South Dakota Supreme Court is up for election. South Dakota is one of 21 states and D.C. that uses an assisted appointment method of judicial selection at the state supreme court level and one of nine states that use this selection method for at least one type of court below the supreme court level. Voters will decide whether to retain incumbent Justice Scott P. Myren
South Dakota is not holding school board elections this year.
Municipal elections for the Pierre City Commission were canceled after incumbents Jamie Huizenga and Todd Johnson were the only candidates to file to run for the office.
Below is a list of South Dakota elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2024. Click the links to learn more about each type:
| South Dakota elections, 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Elections? | More information |
| U.S. Senate | — | — |
| U.S. House | ✓ | Click here |
| Congress special election | — | — |
| Governor | — | — |
| Other state executive | ✓ | Click here |
| State Senate | ✓ | Click here |
| State House | ✓ | Click here |
| Special state legislative | — | — |
| State Supreme Court | ✓ | Click here |
| Intermediate appellate courts | — | — |
| School boards | — | — |
| Municipal government | ✓ | Click here |
| Recalls | — | — |
| Ballot measures | ✓ | Click here |
| Local ballot measures | ✓ | Click here |
Legend: ✓ election(s) / — no elections
Subject to Ballotpedia's scope
Your ballot
- See also: Sample Ballot Lookup
Noteworthy elections
As of Sept. 25, 2024, Ballotpedia did not identify any federal or state elections as battleground races. Those are the race that we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling.
Ballot measures
There are seven statewide ballot measures on the ballot in South Dakota.
| Type | Title | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Amendment E | Amend the constitution to change male pronouns in the Constitution to gender-neutral terms or titles |
|
180,365 (43%) |
242,866 (57%) |
|
| Constitutional Amendment F | Amend the South Dakota Constitution to provide that the state "may impose a work requirement on any person ... who has not been diagnosed as being physically or mentally disabled" for eligible individuals to receive Medicaid under the Medicaid expansion that took effect on July 1, 2023 |
|
236,410 (56%) |
184,829 (44%) |
|
| Constitutional Amendment G | Provide for a state constitutional right to abortion with a trimester framework for regulations |
|
176,809 (41%) |
250,136 (59%) |
|
| Constitutional Amendment H | Establish top-two primaries for federal, state, and certain local offices in South Dakota |
|
141,570 (34%) |
270,048 (66%) |
|
| Initiated Measure 28 | Prohibit state sales taxes on anything sold for human consumption, not including alcoholic beverages or prepared food |
|
129,261 (31%) |
290,969 (69%) |
|
| Initiated Measure 29 | Legalize the recreational or personal use of marijuana |
|
189,916 (44%) |
237,228 (56%) |
|
| Referred Law 21 | Uphold Senate Bill 201, which would provide requirements for regulating carbon dioxide pipelines and other transmission facilities, and allow counties to impose a surcharge on certain pipeline companies |
|
165,682 (41%) |
242,459 (59%) |
82 ballot measures were on the ballot in South Dakota from 1996 to 2022. Voters approved 35 measures and defeated 47.
State analysis
Partisan balance
Incumbent Republican Dusty Johnson (R) represent South Dakota's at-large U.S. House District and is running for re-election against Sheryl Johnson (R). In the U.S. House, Republicans have a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.
Both of South Dakota's U.S. Senators—Mike Rounds and John Thune—are Republicans. Democrats have a majority in the U.S. Senate. There are 47 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and four independents. Three independents caucus with the Democratic Party, and one other counts towards the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
Republicans have a 31-4 majority with one vacancy in the state Senate and a 63-7 majority in the state House. The last time Democrats controlled either chamber of the Legislature was in 1994, when Democrats controlled the Senate.
Because the governor is a Republican, South Dakota is one of 23 states with a Republican trifecta. It has held this status since 1995 when the Republican majority assumed office in the Senate. South Dakota's attorney general and secretary of state are also Republicans. This makes South Dakota one of 25 states with a Republican triplex. It has held this status since 1979 when Republican Alice Kundert assumed the office of Secretary of State.
Past presidential election results in South Dakota
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:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
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.
| South Dakota county-level statistics, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 56 | 91.9% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 5 | 5.1% | |||||
| Trending Republican | 4 | 2.7% | |||||
| Battleground Democratic | 1 | 0.3% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 6 | 5.4% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 60 | 94.6% | |||||
State legislative competitiveness
According to Ballotpedia's annual state legislative competitiveness report, South Dakota had a Competitiveness Index of 47.0, ranking it fourth of the 44 states that held elections.
- 36 (34.3%) of the 105 seats up for election were open
- 42 (60.9%) of the 69 incumbents who ran for re-election faced contested primaries
- 48 (45.7%) of the 105 seats up for election were contested by both major parties
2010-2024
Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.
| State Legislative Competitiveness Index in South Dakota, 2010-2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Open seats | Incs. in contested primaries | Major party competition | Competitiveness Index | Rank | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | 32.4% | 9.9% | 58.1% | 33.5 | 20 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 29.5% | 33.8% | 60.0% | 41.1 | 13 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | 29.5% | 23.0% | 47.6% | 33.4 | 14 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 40.0% | 28.6% | 62.9% | 43.8 | 9 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 24.8% | 25.3% | 84.8% | 45.0 | 6 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 27.6% | 32.9% | 52.4% | 37.6 | 14 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 32.4% | 49.3% | 44.8% | 42.2 | 13 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 34.3% | 60.9% | 45.7% | 47.0 | 4 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
In 2024
Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents. Click on headings for more state-specific information.
| State Legislative Competitiveness Index in South Dakota, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber | Open seats | Incs. in contested primaries | Major party competition | Competitiveness Index | ||||||||||||||||||||
| House | 31.4% | 66.7% | 44.3% | 47.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senate | 40.0% | 47.6% | 48.6% | 45.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 34.3% | 60.9% | 45.7% | 47.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
List of candidates
| candidate | office | party | status |
|---|---|---|---|
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Democratic | Lost General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | office | party | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 Kristie Fiegen Incumbent | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Convention | ||
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Democratic | Withdrew General | ||
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Republican | Won General | ||
 Bethany Soye Incumbent | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
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Democratic | Lost General | ||
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Republican | Won General | ||
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 Ben Krohmer Incumbent | Republican | Withdrew General | |
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Democratic | Withdrew General | ||
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Republican | Lost Primary | ||
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Independent | Lost General | ||
Republican | Won General | ||
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Democratic | Lost General | ||
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Democratic | Lost General | ||
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Republican | Lost Primary | ||
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 | Republican | Won General | |
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Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Independent | Lost General | ||
 | Independent | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost General | ||
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 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
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Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | South Dakota Supreme Court District 5 (Retention election) | Nonpartisan | Won General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Footnotes
