South Dakota held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2022.

Marty J. Jackley won election in the general election for Attorney General of South Dakota.

In South Dakota, political parties nominate candidates for some offices at their conventions instead of holding a primary. Candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, commissioner of school and public lands, and public utilities commissioner are nominated by political parties.^[1] This was one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer, responsible for enforcing state law and offering the state government advice on legal matters. In 43 states, the office was, at the time of the 2022 elections, an elected post. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections that took place in 2022. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

In September 2022, Sabato's Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. South Dakota's attorney general election was rated as not competitive, meaning the seat was expected to stay in Republican hands: Click here to read the analysis.^[2]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

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

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 257,419
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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)
		David Natvig (R)

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

See also: Voting in South Dakota

Election information in South Dakota: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 24, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 24, 2022
Online: N/A

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Nov. 7, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 7, 2022
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Sep. 23, 2022 to Nov. 7, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Past elections

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

	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.
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

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

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	← 2018
South Dakota Attorney General
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: —
	General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Mark Vargo (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in South Dakota
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
South Dakota; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Auditor; Public Lands Commissioner; Public Utilities Commission

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Dakota and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for South Dakota, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
South Dakota's At-Large	Dusty Johnson	Republican	R+16

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, South Dakota^[3]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
South Dakota's At-Large	35.6%	61.8%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 91.9% of South Dakotans lived in one of the state's 56 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 5.1% lived in one of five Solid Democratic counties. Overall, South Dakota was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in South Dakota following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

South Dakota county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	56	91.9%
Solid Democratic	5	5.1%
Trending Republican	4	2.7%
Battleground Democratic	1	0.3%
Total voted Democratic	6	5.4%
Total voted Republican	60	94.6%

Historical voting trends

South Dakota presidential election results (1900-2020)

3 Democratic wins
27 Republican wins
1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	P^[4]	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from South Dakota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in South Dakota.

U.S. Senate election results in South Dakota
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	65.7%	34.3%
2016	71.8%	28.2%
2014	50.4%	29.5%
2010	100%	Uncontested
2008	62.5%	37.5%
Average	62.6	32.4

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of South Dakota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in South Dakota.

Gubernatorial election results in South Dakota
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	51.0%	47.6%
2014	70.5%	25.4%
2010	61.5%	38.5%
2006	61.7%	36.1%
2002	56.8%	41.9%
Average	60.3	37.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of South Dakota's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from South Dakota, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	1	3
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	1	3

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in South Dakota's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in South Dakota, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kristi L. Noem
Lieutenant Governor	Larry Rhoden
Secretary of State	Steve Barnett
Attorney General	Mark Vargo

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the South Dakota State Legislature as of November 2022.

South Dakota State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	3
	Republican Party	32
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

South Dakota House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	8
	Republican Party	62
	Vacancies	0
Total		70

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, South Dakota was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-nine years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in South Dakota and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

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Demographic Data for South Dakota
	South Dakota	United States
Population	814,180	308,745,538
Land area (sq mi)	75,809	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	84.3%	72.5%
Black/African American	2%	12.7%
Asian	1.5%	5.5%
Native American	8.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more	2.6%	3.3%
Hispanic/Latino	3.8%	18%
Education
High school graduation rate	91.7%	88%
College graduation rate	28.8%	32.1%
Income
Median household income	$58,275	$62,843
Persons below poverty level	13.1%	13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Footnotes

[1] South Dakota Legislature, "12-5-21. Nomination of state candidates not voted on at primary--Presidential electors and national committee members.," accessed August 20, 2021

[2] Sabato's Crystal Ball, "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape," September 14, 2022

[3] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[4] Progressive Party

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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South Dakota Attorney General election, 2022

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Dakota

Republican convention

Republican convention for Attorney General of South Dakota

Voting information

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Past elections

2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Dakota

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2014

Election analysis

Presidential elections

Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

Historical voting trends

Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

South Dakota State Senate

South Dakota House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Demographics

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

2024 Election analysis

2025 Elections

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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