Sydney Davis

Sydney Davis

Republican Party

South Dakota State Senate District 17

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

3

Predecessor: Arthur Rusch (R)

Prior offices:

South Dakota House of Representatives District 17

Years in office: 2021 - 2023

Compensation

Base salary

$16,348/year

Per diem

$178/day for legislators who reside more than 50 miles away from the Capitol.

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Personal

Profession

Nurse

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Sydney Davis (Republican Party) is a member of the South Dakota State Senate, representing District 17. She assumed office on January 10, 2023. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Davis (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the South Dakota State Senate to represent District 17. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Sydney Davis earned a degree in nursing from Mount Marty College. Davis' career experience includes working as a registered nurse anesthetist and a cattle producer.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Davis was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
• Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Taxation Committee

2023-2024

Davis was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Health and Human Services Committee
• Senate State Affairs Committee

2021-2022

Davis was assigned to the following committees:

• House Education Committee
• House Health and Human Services Committee

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

2024

See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for South Dakota State Senate District 17

Incumbent Sydney Davis won election in the general election for South Dakota State Senate District 17 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sydney Davis (R)	100.0	7,796

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,796
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 17

Incumbent Sydney Davis defeated Jeffrey Church in the Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 17 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sydney Davis	67.0	1,316
		Jeffrey Church	33.0	649

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,965
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Davis in this election.

2022

See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for South Dakota State Senate District 17

Sydney Davis won election in the general election for South Dakota State Senate District 17 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sydney Davis (R)	100.0	5,997

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,997
= 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

• Greg Baldwin (L)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Sydney Davis advanced from the Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 17.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for South Dakota State Senate District 17

Greg Baldwin advanced from the Libertarian convention for South Dakota State Senate District 17 on April 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Greg Baldwin (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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.

2020

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Sydney Davis and Richard Vasgaard defeated Al Leber and Caitlin Collier in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sydney Davis (R)	31.2	5,278
✔		Richard Vasgaard (R)	28.3	4,786
	Submit photo	Al Leber (D)	21.6	3,645
	Submit photo	Caitlin Collier (D)	18.8	3,181

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,890
= 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

• Michelle Maloney (D)
• Caitlin Collier (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Al Leber and Michelle Maloney advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 17.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Sydney Davis and Richard Vasgaard defeated Dan Werner and Charles Kludt in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sydney Davis	41.0	1,272
✔		Richard Vasgaard	27.2	844
	Submit photo	Dan Werner	16.2	501
	Submit photo	Charles Kludt	15.6	482

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,099
= 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.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sydney Davis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Sydney Davis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Sydney Davis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Sydney Davis campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	South Dakota State Senate District 17	Won general	$54,499	$0
2022	South Dakota State Senate District 17	Won general	$19,914	$0
2020	South Dakota House of Representatives District 17	Won general	$34,825	N/A**
Grand total			$109,238	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in South Dakota

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.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 26. Elevate Rapid City Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community. Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. SD Citizens For Liberty Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. South Dakota Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 27. Elevate Rapid City Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community. Family Heritage Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. SD Citizens For Liberty Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 28. Cannabis Industry Association of South Dakota/New Approach South Dakota/South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws Legislators are scored on their votes related to cannabis. Elevate Rapid City Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community. Family Heritage Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. SD Citizens For Liberty Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. South Dakota Multi-Housing Association Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to housing. South Dakota Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the South Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 29. Americans for Prosperity - South Dakota Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Elevate Rapid City Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community. Family Heritage Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. SD Citizens For Liberty Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. South Dakota Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2024 Elections

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

South Dakota State Senate District 17

Website

Officeholder

South Dakota State Senate District 17

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Arthur Rusch (R)	South Dakota State Senate District 17 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	South Dakota House of Representatives District 17 2021-2023	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the South Dakota State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Jim Mehlhaff

Minority Leader:Liz Larson

Senators

District 1

Michael Rohl (R)

District 2

Steve Kolbeck (R)

District 3

Carl Perry (R)

District 4

Stephanie Sauder (R)

District 5

Glen Vilhauer (R)

District 6

Ernie Otten (R)

District 7

Tim Reed (R)

District 8

Casey Crabtree (R)

District 9

Joy Hohn (R)

District 10

Liz Larson (D)

District 11

Chris Karr (R)

District 12

Arch Beal (R)

District 13

Sue Peterson (R)

District 14

Larry Zikmund (R)

District 15

Jamie Smith (D)

District 16

Kevin Jensen (R)

District 17

Sydney Davis (R)

District 18

Lauren Nelson (R)

District 19

Kyle Schoenfish (R)

District 20

Paul Miskimins (R)

District 21

MyKala Voita (R)

District 22

Brandon Wipf (R)

District 23

Mark Lapka (R)

District 24

Jim Mehlhaff (R)

District 25

Tom Pischke (R)

District 26

Tamara Grove (R)

District 27

Red Foster (D)

District 28

J. Marty (R)

District 29

John Carley (R)

District 30

Amber Hulse (R)

District 31

Randy Deibert (R)

District 32

Helene Duhamel (R)

District 33

Curt Voight (R)

District 34

Taffy Howard (R)

District 35

Greg Blanc (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (3)