Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Judges appointed by Dennis Daugaard
 |
| State Executive Offices |
| Elections by Year |
| 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 |
| State Executive Analyses |
This page lists judges appointed by Dennis Daugaard (R) during his term as Governor of South Dakota. As of today, the total number of Daugaard appointees was 26. For the full profile of Daugaard, click here.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some South Dakota judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Daugaard.
Appointment process
In South Dakota, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge to the supreme court, she or he must stand for retention in the next general election more than three years after taking office. Judges appointed to the circuit courts hold office until the end of the unexpired term.[1]
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
South Dakota Supreme Court District 1 |
January 5, 2015 - Present |
|
|
South Dakota Supreme Court District 2 |
July 9, 2018 - Present |
|
|
South Dakota Supreme Court District 4 |
November 3, 2017 - Present |
|
|
South Dakota Supreme Court District 4 |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
South Dakota 1st Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 1st Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 1st Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 1st Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 2nd Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 2nd Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 2nd Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 3rd Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 3rd Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 3rd Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 4th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 4th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 4th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 5th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 6th Judicial Circuit |
2012 - 2019 |
|
|
South Dakota 6th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 7th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 7th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 7th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 7th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 7th Judicial Circuit |
||
|
South Dakota 7th Judicial Circuit |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in North Carolina
| Judicial selection in North Carolina | |
 | |
| Supreme Court of North Carolina | |
| Method: | Partisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| North Carolina Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Partisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| North Carolina Superior Courts | |
| Method: | Partisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| North Carolina District Courts | |
| Method: | Partisan election |
| Term: | 4 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in North Carolina, including:
- Supreme Court of North Carolina
- North Carolina Court of Appeals
- North Carolina Superior Courts, and
- Limited jurisdiction courts
As of April 2025, all North Carolina judges were chosen through partisan elections. Under the North Carolina Constitution, judges' terms begin on January 1 following their election or re-election.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[2] |
|---|
|
|
| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[3] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[4] | 1[5] | 17[6] |
State profile
| Demographic data for South Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 857,919 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 75,811 | 3,531,905 |
| 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
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.[7]
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
- Elections in South Dakota
- United States congressional delegations from South Dakota
- Public policy in South Dakota
- Endorsers in South Dakota
- South Dakota fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: South Dakota," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of South Dakota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of South Dakota
State courts:
South Dakota Supreme Court • South Dakota Circuit Courts • South Dakota Magistrate Courts
State resources:
Courts in South Dakota • South Dakota judicial elections • Judicial selection in South Dakota
