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 County results Janklow: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Tie: 40–50% Herseth: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in South Dakota |
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The 2002 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2002. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district, who ran on a statewide ballot.
With Thune opting to run for the Senate, a competitive race for the Republican nomination occurred. Among the five candidates pursuing the nomination, the most notable included former Senator Larry Pressler and Governor Bill Janklow, the latter of who was personally recruited to run by President George W. Bush and his advisers. [1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Janklow | 60,575 | 54.93 | |
| Republican | Larry Pressler | 29,992 | 27.20 | |
| Republican | Tim Amdahl | 10,593 | 9.61 | |
| Republican | Roger Hunt | 7,799 | 7.07 | |
| Republican | Bert Tollefson | 1,311 | 1.19 | |
| Total votes | 110,270 | 100.00 | ||
Democrats made a stronger effort to win the seat than in the previous election cycles with the popular Thune choosing to challenge incumbent Senator Tim Johnson rather than seek re-election. Democrats touted Stephanie Herseth, a Law Clerk and member of the prominent Herseth family (which includes several individuals who have been active in South Dakota politics, such as her grandfather Ralph Herseth, a former Governor of South Dakota).
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Stephanie Herseth | 39,576 | 58.15 | |
| Democratic | Rick Weiland | 22,083 | 32.45 | |
| Democratic | Dick Casey | 4,732 | 6.95 | |
| Democratic | Denny Pierson | 1,671 | 2.46 | |
| Total votes | 68,062 | 100.00 | ||
Despite Janklow's high popularity as governor, the race was unexpectedly close. Herseth proved to be skillful fund raiser and as a result was able to stay close to her opponent in campaign funds. [3] The polls confirmed the closeness of the race, showing the both of them consistently with single digits of each other throughout the election.
Throughout the campaign, Janklow emphasized his experience and commitment to seeing that the United States was protected from terrorism, while Herseth emphasized the economic issues of South Dakota. [1]
A controversy occurred in regard to an attack ad that was created by the National Republican Congressional Committee which questioned Herseth's roots in South Dakota. It pointed to the fact that she had not registered to vote in her home state until the year before, and prior to that had voted in Maryland in 2000. Herseth accused the ad of being "both inaccurate and offensive." Though Russ Levsen, her spokesman, acknowledged that she had voted in Maryland and reregistered to vote in South Dakota in 2001, however, he pointed to the fact that she had previously been registered in her home state at the age of eighteen and had voted in five elections between 1989 and 1998. The NRCC pulled the ad within less than forty-eight hours in response to the bipartisan criticisms of both candidates. The ad was subsequently replaced with one that promoted Janklow's credentials. [4]
Though Republicans were unsuccessful in defeating Tim Johnson during the concurrent Senate election, however they did succeed in defending South Dakota's U.S. House seat.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Janklow | 180,023 | 53.47 | |
| Democratic | Stephanie Herseth | 153,551 | 45.61 | |
| Libertarian | Terry Begay | 3,117 | 0.93 | |
| Total votes | 336,691 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Herseth won the seat in a special election less than eighteen months later after Janklow resigned in January 2004 following a conviction of vehicular manslaughter.
Marion Michael Rounds is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
Stephanie Marie Herseth Sandlin is an American attorney, university administrator, and politician from the Democratic Party. She represented South Dakota's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin was first elected to Congress in a July 2004 and won three full terms before losing to Republican Kristi Noem in 2010. She was the youngest female member of the House, and the first woman elected to the House from South Dakota. Before her 2007 marriage to Max Sandlin, she was known as Stephanie Herseth. She is a Democrat and a member of the Herseth family of South Dakota. She and Senator Tim Johnson are the last Democrats to win a statewide and/or federal election in South Dakota.
Larry Lee Pressler is an American lawyer and politician from South Dakota who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, and United States Senate from 1979 to 1997, as a Republican. He remained active in politics following his failed reelection campaign in 1996 and attempted to regain his former seat in 2014 as an independent, but was unsuccessful. He has since supported Democratic tickets.
John Randolph Thune is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. Thune is in his fourth Senate term and is the Senate minority whip, a post he has held since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Thune served three terms as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1997 to 2003.
South Dakota's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the state of South Dakota. Based on area, it is the fourth largest congressional district in the nation.
The 2004 United States presidential election in South Dakota took place on November 2, 2004, and was part of the 2004 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2008 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4, 2008. Primary elections were held on June 3, 2008. Incumbent Senator Tim Johnson won re-election to a third term. As of 2024, this election alongside the simultaneous House race is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota. This is the last time that a Senate candidate and a presidential candidate of different political parties simultaneously won South Dakota.
The structure of the government of South Dakota is based on that of the federal government, with three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The structure of the state government is laid out in the Constitution of South Dakota, the highest law in the state. The constitution may be amended either by a majority vote of both houses of the legislature, or by voter initiative.
The 2004 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was narrowly defeated by Republican John Thune.
The 2010 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district, who run on a statewide ballot. On June 8, 2010, the Republicans nominated Kristi Noem, Assistant Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives and the Democrats nominated the incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. B. Thomas Marking ran as an Independent candidate. In the general election, Noem defeated Herseth Sandlin, winning 48.1 percent of the vote to 45.9 percent for Herseth Sandlin.
Elections were held in South Dakota on November 2, 2010. Primary elections took place on June 8, 2010 for the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and Constitution Party.
The 2004 South Dakota's at-large congressional district special election, which was held on June 1, 2004, was triggered by the January 20, 2004 resignation of Republican Representative Bill Janklow following a conviction of vehicular manslaughter after an accident that had occurred in August 2003. Each party held a nominating convention to choose their nominee for the special election. Republicans nominated Larry Diedrich over Barbara Everist, also a South Dakota State Senator. Democrats chose attorney Stephanie Herseth, who had unsuccessfully challenged Janklow in 2002.
The 2014 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of South Dakota, concurrently with the election of the Governor of South Dakota, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2014 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, concurrently with the election of South Dakota's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Richard Paul Weiland is an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party from the state of South Dakota. Weiland was the chief executive officer of the International Code Council, was appointed by Bill Clinton to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and served as senior advisor to former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle.
The 2016 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held June 7.
The 2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of South Dakota. Incumbent Republican governor Dennis Daugaard was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota was held on November 6, to elect the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with other statewide, legislative, and local elections.
The 2022 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota. Incumbent three-term Republican U.S. Senator John Thune, who is the Senate Minority Whip, was first elected in 2004, defeating Democratic incumbent Tom Daschle, the then-Senate Minority Leader. He ran for reelection to a fourth term. The Democratic nominee was 26-year Navy, Air Force JAG Corps veteran, and former college professor Brian Bengs. Thune was ultimately reelected.
The 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, electing the governor of South Dakota. Incumbent Republican governor Kristi Noem defeated Democratic nominee Jamie Smith to win a second term.
