Attorney General of South Dakota

South Dakota Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$133,750
2025 FY Budget:	$40,212,983
Term limits:	Two consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	Four years
Authority:	South Dakota Constitution, Article 4, Section 7
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of South Dakota Marty J. Jackley Republican Party Assumed office: January 2, 2023
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other South Dakota Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Commissioner of School and Public Lands • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Attorney General of South Dakota is an elected executive position in the South Dakota state government. As the state's chief legal officer, the attorney general has three major duties: help local and state law enforcement officials fight crime, represent state officials in legal manners, and enforce consumer protection laws in the state. The attorney general is elected every four years in the midterm elections and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms in office.

South Dakota has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current Attorney General of South Dakota is Marty J. Jackley (R). Jackley assumed office in 2023.

Authority

The attorney general's office is established in Article 4, Section 7 of the South Dakota Constitution.

Article IV, Section 7:

There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the general election of the governor and every four years thereafter the following constitutional officers: attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and commissioner of school and public lands, who shall severally hold their offices for a term of four years. Commencing with the 1992 general election, no person may be elected to more than two consecutive terms as attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, or commissioner of school and public lands.

Qualifications

South Dakota Codified Law Section 1-11-1.1 requires the attorney general to be licensed to practice law in South Dakota under Section 16-16-1.

Vacancies

Article IV, Section 3 of the state constitution grants the governor the authority to fill, by appointment, any vacancy in the office of attorney general.

Duties

The attorney general has a variety of duties:

“

prosecuting and defending all actions in which the state has an interest, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court, including all criminal appeals serving as legal advisor to the governor and other constitutional officers defending the laws and the constitution of South Dakota serving as legal advisor to many of the state's boards and agencies consulting with and advising state's attorneys, and in some circumstances providing assistance in prosecuting criminal cases issuing legal opinions upon the request of the governor, legislature or certain state and local officials investigating and prosecuting drug cases and major felonies, including such crimes as homicide, burglary and kidnapping protecting South Dakota consumers from scams and fraudulent activity investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud throughout the state operating the state forensic crime laboratory

”

Elections

South Dakota state government organizational chart

Article IV, Section 7 specifies that the offices of attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and commissioner of school and public lands are to be elected every four years.

2022

See also: South Dakota Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Dakota

Marty J. Jackley won election in the general election for Attorney General of South Dakota on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marty J. Jackley (R)	100.0	257,419

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 257,419
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican convention

Republican convention for Attorney General of South Dakota

Marty J. Jackley defeated David Natvig in the Republican convention for Attorney General of South Dakota on June 25, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Marty J. Jackley (R)
	Submit photo	David Natvig (R)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: South Dakota Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Dakota

Jason Ravnsborg defeated Randy Seiler in the general election for Attorney General of South Dakota on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jason Ravnsborg (R)	55.2	179,071
		Randy Seiler (D)	44.8	145,558

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 324,629 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tatewin Means (D)
• John Fitzgerald (R)

2014

See also: South Dakota attorney general election, 2014

Republican incumbent Marty J. Jackley won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of South Dakota, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Marty Jackley Incumbent	82%	208,848
	Libertarian	Chad Haber	18%	45,856
Total Votes				254,704
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2002 for the office of South Dakota Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 See also: South Dakota Attorney General election, 2010 On November 2, 2010, Marty Jackley won re-election to the office of South Dakota Attorney General. He defeated Ron Volesky (D) in the general election. South Dakota Attorney General, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Marty Jackley Incumbent 66.9% 202,499      Democratic Ron Volesky 33.1% 100,182 Total Votes 302,681 Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Larry Long won re-election to the office of South Dakota Attorney General. He defeated Ron Volesky (D) and Randy Ristesund (L) in the general election. South Dakota Attorney General, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Larry Long Incumbent 64.7% 207,079      Democratic Ron Volesky 32.6% 104,267      Libertarian Randy Ristesund 2.8% 8,904 Total Votes 320,250 Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Larry Long won election to the office of South Dakota Attorney General. He defeated Ron Volesky (D) and Bob Newland (L) in the general election. South Dakota Attorney General, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Larry Long 53.5% 174,513      Democratic Ron Volesky 42.8% 139,451      Libertarian Bob Newland 3.7% 12,131 Total Votes 326,095 Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

Term limits

Term limits for the attorney general are defined by Article IV, Section 7 of the South Dakota Constitution, which prevents an attorney general from being elected to more than two consecutive terms.

South Dakota Constitution, Article IV, Section 7:

There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the general election of the Governor and every four years thereafter the following constitutional officers: attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and commissioner of school and public lands, who shall severally hold their offices for a term of four years. Commencing with the 1992 general election, no person may be elected to more than two consecutive terms as attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, or commissioner of school and public lands.

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Attorney General's Office included:

• Appellate
• Civil
• Criminal
• Consumer Protection
• Medical Fraud Control
• Criminal Investigation

State budget

See also: South Dakota state budget and finances

The budget for the attorney general's office in Fiscal Year 2025 was $40,212,983.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

See statutes: SD Codified L § 3-8-2.1 (2014)

The attorney general's annual compensation is set by Title 3, Chapter 8, Section 2 (§ 3-8-2.1) of the South Dakota Codified Laws and it may not be raised or diminished effective during his term in office, pursuant to Article XII, Section 3 of the South Dakota Constitution.

As is the case for all of South Dakota's elected executives, the attorney general's base salary is subject to annual rate increases under the General Appropriations Act for each corresponding year.

2023

In 2023, the officer's salary was $133,750, according to the Council of State Governments.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $121,450, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $118,603, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $116,277 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $112,096 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $112,096 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $112,096 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $109,149 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $107,009 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $103,892 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $100,876. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the attorney general was paid an estimated $97,928 according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

South Dakota Attorneys General
Name (Party)	Years Served
Robert Dollard (R)	1889-1893
Coe I. Crawford (R)	1893-1897
Melvin Grigsby (R)	1897-1899
John L. Pyle (R)	1899-1902
A. W. Burtt (R)	1902-1903
Philo Hall (R)	1903-1907
S.W. Clark (R)	1907-1911
Royal C. Johnson (R)	1911-1915
Clarence C. Caldwell (R)	1915-1919
Byron S. Payne (R)	1919-1923
Buell F. Jones (R)	1923-1929
Merrell Q. Sharpe (R)	1929-1933
Walter Conway (R)	1933-1937
Clair Roddewig (D)	1937-1939
Leo A. Temmey (R)	1939-1943
George T. Mickelson (R)	1943-1947
Sigurd Anderson (R)	1947-1951
Ralph A. Dunham (R)	1951-1955
Phil Saunders (R)	1955-1959
Parnell J. Donahue (D)	1959-1961
A.C. Miller (R)	1961-1963
Frank L. Farrar (R)	1963-1969
Gordon J. Mydland (R)	1969-1973
Kermit A. Sande (D)	1973-1975
William J. Janklow (R)	1975-1979
Mark V. Meierhenry (R)	1979-1987
Roger Tellinghuisen (R)	1987-1991
Mark Barnett (R)	1991-2003
Larry Long (R)	2003-2009
Marty J. Jackley (R)	2009-2019
Jason Ravnsborg (R)	2019-2022

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms South Dakota Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Attorney General of South Dakota - Google News

Contact information

Office of the Attorney General
1302 E Hwy 14
Suite 1
Pierre, SD 57501-8501

Phone: 605-773-3215
Toll Free Phone: 605-773-6585
Fax: 605-773-4106

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the South Dakota Attorney General