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United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota, 2018

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General election

General election for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dusty Johnson
Dusty Johnson (R)
 
60.3
 
202,695
Image of Timothy Bjorkman
Timothy Bjorkman (D)
 
36.0
 
121,033
Image of Ron Wieczorek
Ron Wieczorek (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
2.2
 
7,323
George Hendrickson (L)
 
1.5
 
4,914

Total votes: 335,965
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020
2016
South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 27, 2018
Primary: June 5, 2018
Primary runoff: August 14, 2018 (if needed)
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent:
Kristi Noem (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in South Dakota
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District
At-large
South Dakota elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018

The 2018 U.S. House of Representatives elections in South Dakota took place on November 6, 2018. Voters elected one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state's At-Large Congressional District.

Tim Bjorkman (D), Dusty Johnson (R), George Hendrickson (L), and Ron Wieczorek (I) ran in the general election.

The filing deadline was on March 27, 2018, and the primary election took place on June 5, 2018. Heading into the election the incumbent was Kristi Noem (R), who was first elected in 2010. This seat became open when Noem announced that she was running in South Dakota's 2018 gubernatorial election instead of seeking re-election.

South Dakota has a single At-Large Congressional District, which is made up of the entire state.

This page covered the general election in this race. Click here to read more about the Democratic Party primary election. Click here to read more about the Republican Party primary election.

Candidates and election results

See also: Statistics on U.S. Congress candidates, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District

Dusty Johnson defeated Timothy Bjorkman, Ron Wieczorek, and George Hendrickson in the general election for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dusty Johnson
Dusty Johnson (R)
 
60.3
 
202,695
Image of Timothy Bjorkman
Timothy Bjorkman (D)
 
36.0
 
121,033
Image of Ron Wieczorek
Ron Wieczorek (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
2.2
 
7,323
George Hendrickson (L)
 
1.5
 
4,914

Total votes: 335,965
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District

Timothy Bjorkman advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Timothy Bjorkman
Timothy Bjorkman

Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District

Dusty Johnson defeated Shantel Krebs and Neal Tapio in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Dakota At-large District on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dusty Johnson
Dusty Johnson
 
46.8
 
47,120
Image of Shantel Krebs
Shantel Krebs
 
29.3
 
29,551
Image of Neal Tapio
Neal Tapio
 
23.9
 
24,040

Total votes: 100,711
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates


District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+14, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made South Dakota's at-large district the 87th-most Republican district nationally.[1]

FiveThirtyEight's elasticity score for states and congressional districts measures "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." Heading into the election, this district's elasticity score was 1.01. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moves toward a party, the district is expected to move 1.01 points toward that party.[2]

2016 Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties and Congressional districts intersecting with Pivot Counties

South Dakota's single congressional district intersects with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.

The 206 Pivot Counties are located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. The partisan makeup of the 108 congressional districts intersecting with Pivot Counties is more Republican than the partisan breakdown of the U.S. House. Of the 108 congressional districts that have at least one Pivot County, 63 percent are held by a Republican incumbent, while 55.4 percent of U.S. House seats were won by a Republican in the 2016 elections.[3]

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
U.S. Representative election in South Dakota 2018, general election
Poll Timothy Bjorkman (D) Dusty Johnson (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of errorSample size
Public Opinion Strategies
(August 1-3)
33%54%13%+/-0400
Public Policy Polling
(July 19-20)
33%43%24%+/-3.9641
AVERAGES 33% 48.5% 18.5% +/-1.95 520.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.


Wave election analysis

See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)

The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?

Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.

Applying this definition to U.S. House elections, we found that Republicans needed to lose 48 seats for 2018 to qualify as a wave election.

The chart below shows the number of seats the president's party lost in the 11 U.S. House waves from 1918 to 2016. Click here to read the full report.

U.S. House wave elections
Year President Party Election type House seats change House majority[4]
1932 Hoover R Presidential -97 D
1922 Harding R First midterm -76 R
1938 Roosevelt D Second midterm -70 D
2010 Obama D First midterm -63 R (flipped)
1920 Wilson D Presidential -59 R
1946 Truman D First midterm -54 R (flipped)
1994 Clinton D First midterm -54 R (flipped)
1930 Hoover R First midterm -53 D (flipped)
1942 Roosevelt D Third midterm -50 D
1966 Johnson D First midterm[5] -48 D
1974 Ford R Second midterm[6] -48 D

District history

2016

See also: South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated South Dakota's U.S. House race as safely Republican. Incumbent Kristi Noem (R) defeated Paula Hawks (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent in June.[7]

U.S. House, South Dakota At-Large District General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngKristi Noem Incumbent 64.1% 237,163
     Democratic Paula Hawks 35.9% 132,810
Total Votes 369,973
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State

2014

See also: South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District elections, 2014

Incumbent Kristi Noem (R) won re-election to the United States House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. She defeated Corinna Robinson (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Dakota's At-Large District General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngKristi Noem Incumbent 66.5% 183,834
     Democratic Corinna Robinson 33.5% 92,485
Total Votes 276,319
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 66 South Dakota counties—7.6 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Corson County, South Dakota 4.51% 11.08% 21.48%
Day County, South Dakota 23.77% 6.16% 12.89%
Marshall County, South Dakota 15.51% 8.66% 16.48%
Roberts County, South Dakota 15.53% 9.84% 19.64%
Ziebach County, South Dakota 1.96% 16.43% 27.16%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won South Dakota with 61.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 31.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, South Dakota cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 63.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, South Dakota supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 86.7 to 10.0 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in South Dakota. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[8][9]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won six out of 37 state House districts in South Dakota with an average margin of victory of 19.9 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won four out of 37 state House districts in South Dakota with an average margin of victory of 12.7 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 31 out of 37 state House districts in South Dakota with an average margin of victory of 22.4 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 33 out of 37 state House districts in South Dakota with an average margin of victory of 32.5 points. Trump won five districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in South Dakota heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

  • Republicans controlled both chambers of the South Dakota General Assembly. They had a 59-10 majority in the state House and a 29-6 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

  • South Dakota was under a Republican state government trifecta, meaning Republicans held the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.

2018 elections

See also: South Dakota elections, 2018

South Dakota held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

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.

As of July 2016, South Dakota's three largest cities were Sioux Falls (pop. est. 177,000), Rapid City (pop. est. 74,000), and Aberdeen (pop. est. 28,000).[10]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in South Dakota from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in South Dakota every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), South Dakota 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 61.5% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 31.7% 29.8%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 57.9% Democratic Party Barack Obama 39.9% 18.0%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 53.1% Democratic Party Barack Obama 44.8% 8.3%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 59.9% Democratic Party John Kerry 38.4% 21.5%
2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 60.3% Democratic Party Al Gore 37.6% 22.7%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in South Dakota from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), South Dakota 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party John Thune 71.8% Democratic Party Jay Williams 28.2% 43.6%
2014 Republican Party Mike Rounds 50.4% Democratic Party Rick Weiland 29.5% 20.9%
2010 Republican Party John Thune 100.0% Democratic Party No candidate 100.0%
2008 Democratic Party Tim Johnson 62.5% Republican Party Joel Dykstra 37.5% 25.0%
2004 Republican Party John Thune 50.6% Democratic Party Tom Daschle 49.4% 1.2%
2002 Democratic Party Tim Johnson 49.6% Republican Party John Thune 49.5% 0.1%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in South Dakota.

Election results (Governor), South Dakota 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Dennis Daugaard 70.5% Democratic Party Susan Wismer 25.4% 45.1%
2010 Republican Party Dennis Daugaard 61.5% Democratic Party Scott Heidepreim 38.5% 23.0%
2006 Republican Party Mike Rounds 61.7% Democratic Party Jack Billion 36.1% 25.6%
2002 Republican Party Mike Rounds 56.8% Democratic Party Jim Abbott 41.9% 14.9%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent South Dakota in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, South Dakota 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 1 100.0% Democratic Party 0 0.0% R+1
2014 Republican Party 1 100.0% Democratic Party 0 0.0% R+1
2012 Republican Party 1 100.0% Democratic Party 0 0.0% R+1
2010 Republican Party 1 100.0% Democratic Party 0 0.0% R+1
2008 Democratic Party 1 100.0% Republican Party 0 0.0% D+1
2006 Democratic Party 1 100.0% Republican Party 0 0.0% D+1
2004 Democratic Party 1 100.0% Republican Party 0 0.0% D+1
2002 Republican Party 1 100.0% Democratic Party 0 0.0% R+1
2000 Republican Party 1 100.0% Democratic Party 0 0.0% R+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-two 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 23 24 25
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 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 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 R R R


See also

Footnotes

  1. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  2. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  3. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  4. Denotes the party that had more seats in the U.S. House following the election.
  5. Lyndon Johnson's (D) first term began in November 1963 after the death of President John F. Kennedy (D), who was first elected in 1960. Before Johnson had his first midterm in 1966, he was re-elected president in 1964.
  6. Gerald Ford's (R) first term began in August 1974 following the resignation of President Richard Nixon (R), who was first elected in 1968 and was re-elected in 1972. Because Ford only served for two full months before facing the electorate, this election is classified as Nixon's second midterm.
  7. South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 Election Information," accessed June 4, 2021
  8. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  9. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  10. South Dakota Demographics, "South Dakota Cities by Population," accessed September 8, 2018



Senators
Representatives
Republican Party (3)