2020 South Dakota Senate election

Elections to the South Dakota Senate were held on November 3, 2020 as a part of the biennial elections in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Voters in 35 single-member constituencies elected members to the 93rd Senate. Elections were also held in the state for U.S. president, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, and the South Dakota House of Representatives.

2020 South Dakota Senate election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →

All 35 seats in the South Dakota Senate
18 seats needed for a majority
Turnout64.31%[1]
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Kris Langer
(retiring)
Troy Heinert
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat 25th district 26th district
Seats before 30 5
Seats won 32 3
Seat change Increase 2 Decrease 2
Popular vote 271,017 78,110
Percentage 72.83% 20.99%

Results:
     Republican gain
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
Vote share:
     50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
     50–60%

Majority Leader before election

Kris Langer
Republican

Majority Leader
after election

Gary Cammack
Republican

Primary elections were held on June 2, 2020.[2]

Background

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The Republican Party had been in majority control of the Senate since 1995, and had not come close to losing it since then. Although the Democratic Party held some support from urban areas and districts with a large Native American population, they had been losing seats over time; the last time Democrats held a number of seats in the double digits was 2010.

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[3] Safe R October 21, 2020

Results

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Overview

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Summary of the November 3, 2020 South Dakota Senate election
 
Party Candidates Votes % Seats
Before After +/–
Republican 35 271,017 72.83 30 32   2
Democratic 17 78,110 20.99 5 3   2
Libertarian 7 13,938 3.75 0 0  
Independent 2 9,045 2.43 0 0  
Total 372,110 100.00 35 35  
Registered/Turnout 578,655 64.31
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State
Popular vote
Republican
72.83%
Democratic
20.99%
Libertarian
3.75%
Others
2.43%
Senate seats
Republican
91.43%
Democratic
8.57%

By district

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District Incumbent Party Elected Party
1st Susan Wismer Dem Michael H. Rohl Rep
2nd Brock Greenfield Rep Brock Greenfield Rep
3rd Al Novstrup Rep Al Novstrup Rep
4th John Wiik Rep John Wiik Rep
5th Lee Schoenbeck Rep Lee Schoenbeck Rep
6th Ernie Otten Rep Herman Otten Rep
7th V. J. Smith Rep V. J. Smith Rep
8th Casey Crabtree Rep Casey Crabtree Rep
9th Wayne Steinhauer Rep Wayne Steinhauer Rep
10th Margaret Sutton Rep Margaret Sutton Rep
11th Jim Stalzer Rep Jim Stalzer Rep
12th Blake Curd Rep Blake Curd Rep
13th Jack Kolbeck Rep Jack Kolbeck Rep
14th Deb Soholt Rep Larry Zikmund Rep
15th Reynold Nesiba Dem Reynold Nesiba Dem
16th Jim Bolin Rep Jim Bolin Rep
17th Arthur Rusch Rep Arthur Rusch Rep
18th Craig Kennedy Dem Jean Hunhoff Rep
19th Kyle Schoenfish Rep Kyle Schoenfish Rep
20th Joshua Klumb Rep Joshua Klumb Rep
21st Rocky Blare Rep Erin Tobin Rep
22nd Jim White Rep David Wheeler Rep
23rd John A. Lake Rep Bryan J. Breitling Rep
24th Jeff Monroe Rep Mary Duvall Rep
25th Kris Langer Rep Marsha Symens Rep
26th Troy Heinert Dem Troy Heinert Dem
27th Red Dawn Foster Dem Red Dawn Foster Dem
28th Ryan Maher Rep Ryan Maher Rep
29th Gary Cammack Rep Gary Cammack Rep
30th Lance Russell Rep Julie Frye-Mueller Rep
31st Bob Ewing Rep Timothy Johns Rep
32nd Helene Duhamel Rep Helene Duhamel Rep
33rd Phil Jensen Rep David Johnson Rep
34th Jeffrey Partridge Rep Michael Diedrich Rep
35th Jessica Castleberry Rep Jessica Castleberry Rep

Close races

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Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. District 26, 5.68%
  2. District 12, 8.14%
  3. District 15, 9.50%

Red denotes races won by Republicans. Blue denotes races won by Democrats.

Election results

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[4]

District 1District 2District 3District 4District 5District 6District 7District 8District 9District 10District 11District 12District 13District 14District 15District 16District 17District 18District 19District 20District 21District 22District 23District 24District 25District 26District 27District 28District 29District 30District 31District 32District 33District 34District 35

District 1

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South Dakota Senate District 1 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael H. Rohl 6,051 55.19%
Democratic Susan Wismer (Incumbent) 4,913 44.81%
Total votes 10,964 100%
Republican gain from Democratic

District 2

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South Dakota Senate District 2 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brock L. Greenfield (Incumbent) 8,154 100%
Total votes 8,154 100%
Republican hold

District 3

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South Dakota Senate District 3 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Al Novstrup (Incumbent) 7,496 100%
Total votes 7,496 100%
Republican hold

District 4

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South Dakota Senate District 4 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Wiik (Incumbent) 9,538 82.62%
Libertarian Daryl Root 2,007 17.38%
Total votes 11,545 100%
Republican hold

District 5

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South Dakota Senate District 5 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lee Schoenbeck (Incumbent) 8,272 79.04%
Libertarian Adam Jewell 2,193 20.96%
Total votes 10,465 100%
Republican hold

District 6

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South Dakota Senate District 6 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Herman Otten 10,194 66.74%
Democratic Nancy Kirstein 5,081 33.26%
Total votes 15,275 100
Republican hold

District 7

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South Dakota Senate District 7 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican V.J. Smith (Incumbent) 6,650 100%
Total votes 6,650 100%
Republican hold

District 8

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South Dakota Senate District 8 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Casey Crabtree (Incumbent) 7,829 100%
Total votes 7,829 100%
Republican hold

District 9

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South Dakota Senate District 9 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Wayne H. Steinhauer (Incumbent) 7,654 57.96%
Democratic Suzanne "Suzie" Jones Pranger 5,552 42.04%
Total votes 13,206 100%
Republican hold

District 10

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South Dakota Senate District 10 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Maggie Sutton (Incumbent) 7,205 100%
Total votes 7,205 100%
Republican hold

District 11

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South Dakota Senate District 11 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Stalzer (Incumbent) 8,244 60.47%
Democratic Tom Cool 5,389 39.53%
Total votes 13,633 100%
Republican hold

District 12

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South Dakota Senate District 12 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican R Blake Curd (Incumbent) 6,599 54.07%
Democratic Jessica Meyers 5,606 45.93%
Total votes 12,205 100%
Republican hold

District 13

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South Dakota Senate District 13 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jack Kolbeck (Incumbent) 7,490 56.28%
Democratic Elizabeth "Liz" Larson 5,819 43.72%
Total votes 13,309 100%
Republican hold

District 14

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South Dakota Senate District 14 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Larry P. Zikmund 7,391 56.00%
Democratic Timothy Reed 5,808 44.00%
Total votes 13,199 100%
Republican hold

District 15

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South Dakota Senate District 15 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Reynold F. Nesiba (Incumbent) 4,127 54.75%
Republican Thor Bardon 3,411 45.25%
Total votes 7,538 100%
Democratic hold

District 16

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South Dakota Senate District 16 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David L. Anderson (Incumbent) 8,383 100%
Total votes 8,383 100%
Republican hold

District 17

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South Dakota Senate District 17 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Arthur Rusch (Incumbent) 6,285 63.87%
Democratic Ailee Johns 3,122 31.72%
Libertarian Gregory Baldwin 434 4.41%
Total votes 9,841 100%
Republican hold

District 18

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South Dakota Senate District 18 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jean Hunhoff 6,341 59.85%
Democratic Jordan Foos 4,255 40.15%
Total votes 10,597 100%
Republican gain from Democratic

District 19

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South Dakota Senate District 19 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kyle Schoenfish (Incumbent) 9,766 100%
Total votes 9,766 100%
Republican hold

District 20

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South Dakota Senate District 20 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joshua Klumb (Incumbent) 8,516 85.09%
Libertarian Alexander Martin 1,492 14.91%
Total votes 10,008 100%
Republican hold

District 21

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South Dakota Senate District 21 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Erin Tobin 7,629 79.21%
Democratic Dan Kerner Andersson 2,002 20.79%
Total votes 9,631 100%
Republican hold

District 22

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South Dakota Senate District 22 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Wheeler 7,397 100%
Total votes 7,397 100%
Republican hold

District 23

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South Dakota Senate District 23 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bryan J. Breitling 9,519 89.56%
Libertarian CJ Abernathey 1,110 10.44%
Total votes 10,629 100%
Republican hold

District 24

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South Dakota Senate District 24 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mary Duvall 9,254 100%
Total votes 9,254 100%
Republican hold

District 25

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South Dakota Senate District 25 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Marsha Symens 7,580 58.86%
Independent Rick W Knobe 4,205 32.65%
Independent Seth William Van't Hof 1,093 8.49%
Total votes 12,878 100%
Republican hold

District 26

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South Dakota Senate District 26 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Troy Heinert (Incumbent) 4,416 52.84%
Republican Joel Koskan 3,941 47.16%
Total votes 8,357 100%
Democratic hold

District 27

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South Dakota Senate District 27 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Red Dawn Foster (Incumbent) 3,829 56.25%
Republican Judd W Schomp 2,978 43.75%
Total votes 6,807 100%
Democratic hold

District 28

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South Dakota Senate District 28 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ryan M. Maher (Incumbent) 7,506 100%
Total votes 7,506 100%
Republican hold

District 29

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South Dakota Senate District 29 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Gary L. Cammack (Incumbent) 9,350 77.88%
Libertarian Kent Wilsey 2,656 22.12%
Total votes 12,006 100%
Republican hold

District 30

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South Dakota Senate District 30 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Julie Frye-Mueller 10,043 71.28%
Libertarian A. Gideon Oakes 4,046 28.72%
Total votes 14,089 100%
Republican hold

District 31

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South Dakota Senate District 31 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Timothy R. Johns 9,911 100%
Total votes 9,911 100%
Republican hold

District 32

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South Dakota Senate District 32 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Helene Duhamel (Incumbent) 7,397 64.10%
Democratic Michael Calabrese 4,143 35.90%
Total votes 11,540 100%
Republican hold

District 33

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South Dakota Senate District 33 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Johnson 11,369 68.13%
Democratic Ryan A. Ryder 5,317 31.87%
Total votes 16,686 100%
Republican hold

District 34

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South Dakota Senate District 34 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael G Diedrich 8,079 64.38%
Democratic George Nelson 4,470 35.62%
Total votes 12,549 100%
Republican hold

District 35

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South Dakota Senate District 35 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jessica Castleberry (Incumbent) 6,012 61.60%
Democratic Brian Gentry 3,747 38.40%
Total votes 9,759 100%
Republican hold

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Voter Turnout". South Dakota Secretary of State. December 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "South Dakota elections, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  3. ^ "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "2020 South Dakota Senate election results". electionresults.sd.gov.