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Steve Westra
Steve Westra is a former Republican member of the South Dakota House of Representatives representing District 13 from 2013 to 2017. He served as majority whip in 2014 and as assistant majority leader in 2015.
Westra did not seek re-election to the South Dakota House of Representatives in 2016. He withdrew from the ballot after the Republican primary.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Westra served on the following committees:
| South Dakota committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Judiciary |
| • Legislative Procedure |
| • State Affairs, Vice Chair |
| • Joint Legislative Procedure |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Westra served on the following committees:
| South Dakota committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Commerce and Energy |
| • Health and Human Services |
Campaign themes
2014
Westra's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[2]
Open South Dakota for Business
- Excerpt: "By creating a pro-growth, business friendly environment that empowers small businesses and attracts new jobs and opportunities to our state."
Responsible Government
- Excerpt: "South Dakota needs to be the example of a fiscally responsible government that values and supports our free enterprise system."
Minimize Government Regulation
- Excerpt: "Small business drives our economy, but needless government regulation out of Washington, D.C. is bad for business an bad for jobs. As a local businessman, I am aware of the drag that taxes and regulation can have on companies. I will continue the tradition of low taxes and minimal regulation that make South Dakota such a great place to live, relocate, start a business, and create jobs."
Strengthen South Dakota Schools
- Excerpt: "So that our children receive the world-class education that they need to compete and succeed in the global economy."
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.
Elections
2016
Elections for the South Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 29, 2016. Incumbent Steve Westra (R) withdrew from the race after the Republican primary.
Incumbent Mark Mickelson and Sue Lucas-Peterson defeated P. James Eckhoff and Ellie Spawn in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 13 general election.[3][4]
| South Dakota House of Representatives, District 13 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mark Mickelson Incumbent |
37.81% | 7,696 | |
| Republican | Sue Lucas-Peterson |
27.50% | 5,599 | |
| Democratic | P. James Eckhoff | 19.39% | 3,948 | |
| Democratic | Ellie Spawn | 15.30% | 3,114 | |
| Total Votes | 20,357 | |||
| Source: South Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
P. James Eckhoff and Ellie Spawn were unopposed in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 13 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| South Dakota House of Representatives, District 13 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | P. James Eckhoff | |
| Democratic | Ellie Spawn | |
Incumbent Steve Westra and incumbent Mark Mickelson were unopposed in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 13 Republican primary.[5][6]
| South Dakota House of Representatives, District 13 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Steve Westra Incumbent | |
| Republican | Mark Mickelson Incumbent | |
2014
Elections for the South Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 25, 2014. Kay Wilds was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbents Mark Mickelson and Steve Westra were unopposed in the Republican primary. Mickelson and Westra defeated Wilds in the general election.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Mickelson Incumbent |
44% | 5,493 | |
| Republican | Steve Westra Incumbent |
33.1% | 4,141 | |
| Democratic | Kay Wilds | 22.9% | 2,858 | |
| Total Votes | 12,492 | |||
| Source: South Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
2012
Westra won election in the 2012 election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 13. Westra and G. Mark Mickelson defeated Frank Alvine in the Republican primary on June 5. Jesse Vavreck and incumbent Susan Blake ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, but withdrew prior to the general election. Westra and Mickelson were unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Brian Liss (R) did not run for re-election.[10][11]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
G. Mark Mickelson |
53.6% | 2,063 |
| Steve Westra |
25.6% | 984 |
| Frank Alvine | 20.8% | 800 |
| Total Votes | 3,847 | |
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.
2017
In 2017, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 27. The legislature held a special session on June 12.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to firearm policy.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2016, the 91st South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 29.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2015, the 90th South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 13 to March 30.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the 89th South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 14 to March 31.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the 88th South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 25.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Steve + Westra + South + Dakota + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- South Dakota State Legislature
- South Dakota House of Representatives
- South Dakota House Committees
- South Dakota Joint Committees
- South Dakota House of Representatives District 13
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Steve Westra on Facebook
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed August 21, 2016
- ↑ Steve Westra campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 25, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed August 21, 2016
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Official Results State Canvas," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "State primary results," accessed June 7, 2016
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Current Candidates for Primary Election," May 2, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Primary Election - Official Results," accessed June 4, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Official General Election Results - November 4, 2014," accessed November 12, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Official election results for 2012," accessed March 11, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Primary Results," June 25, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian Liss (R) |
South Dakota House of Representatives District 13 2013–2017 |
Succeeded by Sue Lucas-Peterson (R) |
