Mellissa Heermann
Mellissa Heermann (Republican Party) is a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, representing District 7. She assumed office on January 10, 2023. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.
Heermann (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the South Dakota House of Representatives to represent District 7. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on June 2, 2026.[source]
Biography
Mellissa Heermann earned a bachelor's degree in international business/trade/commerce from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a master's degree in operations management and supervision from South Dakota State University in 2020. Heermann's career experience includes working as the revenue cycle director of the Brookings Health System, an IT manager with Daktronics, and a project manager in mentorship with Florence Crittenton.[1][2] She has served on the school board of the Brookings School District and on the board of the Brookings County Youth Mentoring Program.[2]
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.
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Heermann was assigned to the following committees:
2023-2024
Heermann was assigned to the following committees:
Elections
2026
See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Republican primary
Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)
Incumbent Mellissa Heermann (R) is running in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mellissa Heermann | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2024
See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)
Incumbent Roger DeGroot and incumbent Mellissa Heermann defeated Fedora Sutton-Butler and Blake Stevens in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Roger DeGroot (R) | 32.8 | 6,045 |
| ✔ | | Mellissa Heermann (R) | 30.7 | 5,666 |
| Fedora Sutton-Butler (D) | 19.2 | 3,533 | ||
 | Blake Stevens (D) | 17.3 | 3,189 | |
| Total votes: 18,433 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Cole Sartell (D)
- Penny Hauffe (D)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Penny Hauffe and Cole Sartell advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)
Incumbent Mellissa Heermann and incumbent Roger DeGroot defeated Jeffrey Struwe in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mellissa Heermann | 38.4 | 781 |
| ✔ | | Roger DeGroot | 35.0 | 712 |
| Jeffrey Struwe | 26.5 | 539 | ||
| Total votes: 2,032 | |||
| = 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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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Heermann in this election.
2022
See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)
Roger DeGroot and Mellissa Heermann defeated Cole Sartell in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Roger DeGroot (R) | 38.7 | 4,980 |
| ✔ | | Mellissa Heermann (R) | 34.7 | 4,461 |
 | Cole Sartell (D) | 26.7 | 3,431 | |
| Total votes: 12,872 | |||
| = 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
- Mary Perpich (D)
- Lisa Johnsen (D)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Lisa Johnsen and Mary Perpich advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)
Mellissa Heermann and Roger DeGroot defeated Doug Post and Matt Doyle in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mellissa Heermann | 31.4 | 1,280 |
| ✔ | | Roger DeGroot | 30.6 | 1,245 |
 | Doug Post | 29.1 | 1,184 | |
| Matt Doyle | 8.9 | 363 | ||
| Total votes: 4,072 | |||
| = 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
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2024
Mellissa Heermann did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Mellissa Heermann completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Heermann's responses.
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I bring with me 14 years of experience in leadership roles while working in the Manufacturing and Health industries. I have also spent almost 8 years in publicly elected positions such as City Council, Mayor and School Board. I have enjoyed serving Brookings in other ways, such as non-profit board leadership and volunteerism.
I received my Undergraduate Degree in International Business from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and in May of 2020 I received a Masters of Operations Management degree from SDSU. I am currently the Director of the Revenue Cycle at Brookings Health System.- Bottom line, I genuinely care about people. I will use my previous experiences in leadership positions in the Manufacturing and Healthcare industries, local City Government and School Board, as well as non-profit board leadership to provide thoughtful leadership. I will remain thoughtful in how I problem solve issues, navigate toward solutions, and sincerely listen to the feedback and concerns of others.
- It is important to me that we continue to focus on fiscally responsible investments and decisions in order to steward our finances well and invest in a secure future for South Dakota.
- I am a strong advocate for public education. Serving six years on the School Board, leading through the challenges of the pandemic, and have granted me a deep understanding of the obstacles and opportunities facing us in education.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the South Dakota State Legislature in 2025.
- Elevate Rapid City — Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community.
- Family Voice Action — Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues.
- 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 Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the South Dakota State Legislature in 2024.
- Elevate Rapid City — Legislators are scored on their stances related to the Rapid City business community.
- Family Voice Action — Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the South Dakota State Legislature in 2023.
- 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.
- Family Voice Action — Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues.
- 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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 |
Officeholder South Dakota House of Representatives District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 6, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 LinkedIn, "Mellissa Heermann," accessed April 22, 2023
