Maps of every SD Gov election added to Online Almanac

New this week, the Online Almanac of South Dakota Politics has added county-by-county maps depicting the results of every general …

Women and tribal members reach new highs in solidly Republican SD Legislature

The 2022 general election is in the books, and voters have once again elected Republican supermajorities to the South Dakota …

Noem wins big as Republicans dominate in SD

The storyline from Election Day 2022 is a familiar one in South Dakota – a big win for Republicans up …

A historic win for John Thune

U.S. Senator John Thune celebrated a big reelection win yesterday, winning a fourth term against challenger Brian Bengs with approximately …

SoDakGovs debuts Online Almanac of South Dakota politics

Just in time for the 2022 general election, SoDakGovs is launching an Online Almanac of South Dakota politics. Since this …

Republicans gain in voter registration

The lead-up to the 2022 general election has generated renewed discussion about the Republican Party’s advantage in voter registration in …

2022 Election Preview

This Tuesday, November 8 is Election Day. Every election makes history, and this year’s election will be no exception. The …

Partisan control of the South Dakota State Legislature (2022)

This is an update of a post first written prior to the 2016 general election, and last updated with the …

John Thune set to make history

With Election Day just over a week away, U.S. Senator John Thune is strongly favored to win reelection, with a …

Can a Sioux Falls candidate get elected governor?

South Dakota voters head to the polls in less than two weeks, and the marquee race is the contest between …

Will the SD GOP winning streak continue in 2022?

This is an update of a post that was written prior to the 2020 general election. The 2022 election marks twelve years …

History in the Making: 2022 Gubernatorial Milestones

The 2022 gubernatorial election is little more than a month away. Voters will choose between the incumbent governor, Republican Kristi …

Campaigning on Crutches

Governor Kristi Noem announced this morning that, following a back injury a few weeks ago, she underwent back surgery at …

SD’s “Million Vote Club”

Updated to reflect the results of the 2022 general election. There are many ways to measure South Dakota’s top political …

Jackley joins a short list of unopposed nominees

The South Dakota Democratic Party held its state convention this weekend to adopt its platform and nominate candidates for statewide …

Jennifer Keintz is Jamie Smith’s running mate

Today, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jamie Smith announced that he will ask the State Democratic Convention to nominate Jennifer Healy Keintz, …

LG selection through the years

The recent State Republican Convention in Watertown featured a rare contested ballot for the lieutenant governor nomination. Lt. Governor Larry …

SD GOP looks to November

The South Dakota Republican Party held its state convention in Watertown June 23-25, 2022. News outlets have noted a record-setting …

The Dem Dozen

This week, House Minority Leader Jamie Smith launched his 2022 candidacy for governor. Smith joins a Democratic Party field that …

Haugaard takes on Noem, and history

The news today reports that Steven G. Haugaard will challenge Governor Kristi Noem in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary. The …

Historic milestones Biden achieves

Every election offers a new opportunity for “firsts” and other milestones. Four years ago, this blog wrote about the many milestones …

Presidential comebacks

Americans living today have never seen a former president seek a return to the Oval Office. The two-term limit is …

Women reach all-time high as SD Legislature most Republican in decades

The 2020 election results are in and, as expected, Republicans have maintained control of both the State Senate and the …

A big win for Dusty Johnson

To no one’s great surprise, first-term Congressman Dusty Johnson, a Republican, was easily reelected on Tuesday night. Johnson, after all, …

Mike Rounds on a historic path

Mike Rounds was reelected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, handily winning a second term against Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers. …

2020 Election Preview

This Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day. Every election makes history, and this blog has written several blog posts looking …

Partisan control of the South Dakota State Legislature

This is an update of a post written prior to the 2016 general election. It was updated prior to the …

Mike Rounds and the biggest U.S. Senate wins

Update: Unofficial election results indicate that Rounds was reelected with 65.7% of the vote, placing him fifth all-time among U.S. …

Will Trump keep the Rushmore State red?

This is an update of a post written prior to the 2016 election. Unofficial election results indicate Trump/Pence carried South …

Will the SD GOP winning streak continue in 2020?

This is an update of a post that was written prior to the 2018 general election. The 2020 election marks …

Will Dusty be unopposed in November?

(Post updated May 13, 2020 to reflect filing deadlines.) Pending the result of the June Republican primary, Congressman Dusty Johnson …

Noem is SD’s first female governor

Kristi Lynn Noem has been elected the 33rd Governor of South Dakota. The Hamlin County Republican and her running mate, …

Turner County is SD GOV bellwether

During the primary, this blog identified Beadle and Davison counties as the best bellwethers for a Republican gubernatorial primary. That …

MAPS! (of general elections for SD Governor)

Updated to include a map of the 2022 general election. This site’s Online Almanac now includes county maps of every …

Closest elections for South Dakota governor

This post has been updated to include the results of the 2018 election. The closest gubernatorial election in South Dakota history …

Noem and Sutton a historically rural matchup

The 2018 gubernatorial election has had a noticeably rural feel. Candidates Kristi Noem, Billie Sutton and Marty Jackley have all …

2018 SD GOP looks to extend its winning streak

This is an update of a post that was done prior to the 2016 general election. The South Dakota Republican …

Michelle Lavallee is Sutton’s running mate

Today, Billie Sutton announced that he will ask the State Democratic Convention to nominate Michelle Lavallee, of Sioux Falls, for …

Libertarians and the modern history of minor party candidates for SD Governor

This weekend, the Libertarian Party of South Dakota made itself the first in 2018 to complete a gubernatorial ticket, nominating …

Kristi and Dusty win: A few observations

Kristi Noem is the Republican nominee for Governor of South Dakota, and Dusty Johnson is the nominee for U. S. …

Counties to watch on primary night

The 2018 Republican primary is fast approaching, and the gubernatorial matchup between Congresswoman Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley is …

Uncontested nomination for Sutton

With the current focus on the Jackley–Noem primary in a few weeks, it is easy to forget that a third …

SD Gov Nominees from West River

Billie Sutton, the Democratic Senate Minority Leader from Burke, is uncontested in the June primary for his party’s nomination to …

MAPS! (of SD GOP gubernatorial primaries)

It is just over three weeks until the South Dakota’s Republican gubernatorial primary, which pits Congresswoman Kristi Noem against Attorney …

Dusty and Shantel try to make history

Kristi Noem’s pursuit of the Governor’s Office leaves an open seat in Washington. Three Republicans – former Public Utilities Commissioner …

LG-stakes: What history tells us about 2018 running mates

With the 2018 gubernatorial campaign coming into full swing, it’s not too early to start speculating about the candidates’ potential …

Dennis Daugaard historical milestones

As Governor Daugaard serves out his final year in office, here are some the historical milestones he has set. A number …

Presidential milestones, great and small: 2016

Every election offers a new opportunity for “firsts” and other milestones.  Some are historic in their nature; others are useful only …

History made in 2016

Every general election makes history, in some way.  Here are a few historical notes on the 2016 election in South …

Top election performers, all-time: UPDATED

The following post has been revised to include the results from the 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 general elections.  The …