South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2020

• Presidential election
  • Presidential candidates
• Congress elections
  • U.S. Congress
  • U.S. Senate
  • U.S. House
  • Congressional special elections
• State elections
  • Ballot measures
  • State executives
  • State legislatures
  • State legislature special elections
  • State supreme courts
  • Intermediate appellate courts
• Local elections
  • Ballot measures
  • Municipal government
  • Mayors
  • School boards
  • Trial courts
  • Political recalls
• Voter information
  • Sample ballot
  • Election calendar
  • Election results
  • Poll opening and closing times
  • Voting policies

2020 South Dakota House Elections
General	November 3, 2020
Primary	June 2, 2020
Primary runoff	August 11, 2020

Past Election Results

2018・2016・2014 2012・2010・2008

2020 Elections
Choose a chamber below:
Select an election Alaska Senate Alaska House Arizona Senate Arizona House Arkansas Senate Arkansas House California Senate California Assembly Colorado Senate Colorado House Connecticut Senate Connecticut House Delaware Senate Delaware House Florida Senate Florida House Georgia Senate Georgia House Hawaii Senate Hawaii House Idaho Senate Idaho House Illinois Senate Illinois House Indiana Senate Indiana House Iowa Senate Iowa House Kansas Senate Kansas House Kentucky Senate Kentucky House Maine Senate Maine House Massachusetts Senate Massachusetts House Michigan House Minnesota Senate Minnesota House Missouri Senate Missouri House Montana Senate Montana House Nebraska Senate Nevada Senate Nevada Assembly New Hampshire Senate New Hampshire House New Mexico Senate New Mexico House New York Senate New York Assembly North Carolina Senate North Carolina House North Dakota Senate North Dakota House Ohio Senate Ohio House Oklahoma Senate Oklahoma House Oregon Senate Oregon House Pennsylvania Senate Pennsylvania House Rhode Island Senate Rhode Island House South Carolina Senate South Carolina House South Dakota Senate South Dakota House Tennessee Senate Tennessee House Texas Senate Texas House Utah Senate Utah House Vermont Senate Vermont House Washington Senate Washington House West Virginia Senate West Virginia House Wisconsin Senate Wisconsin Assembly Wyoming Senate Wyoming House

Republicans gained seats in the 2020 elections for South Dakota House of Representatives, preserving their supermajority. All 70 seats in the chamber were up for election in 2020. Heading into the election, Republicans held 59 seats and Democrats held 11. Republicans gained a net three seats and expanded their majority to 62-8.

The South Dakota House of Representatives was one of 86 state legislative chambers with elections in 2020. All 70 House seats were up for election in 2020. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. In 2018, 87 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections.

South Dakota's 2020 state legislative elections affected partisan control of redistricting following the 2020 census. In South Dakota, the state legislature is responsible for redistricting. District maps are subject to gubernatorial veto.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

South Dakota did not modify any procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Party control

See also: Partisan composition of state houses and State government trifectas

South Dakota House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2020	After November 4, 2020
	Democratic Party	11	8
	Republican Party	59	62
Total		70	70

General election

   font-size: 16px !important;

} .thirdpartyname:not(:first-child) { padding-top: 5px; } .thirdpartyname { margin:0; } .candidate:last-child { padding-bottom: 5px; } @media only screen and (max-width: 600px) { .candidateListTablePartisan td { font-size: 12px !important; vertical-align: top; }

 }






Primary election

   font-size: 16px !important;

}
.thirdpartyname:not(:first-child) {
			padding-top: 5px;
}
.thirdpartyname {
	margin:0;
}
.candidate:last-child {
	padding-bottom: 5px;
}
@media only screen and (max-width: 600px) {
	.candidateListTablePartisan td {
		font-size: 12px !important;
		vertical-align: top;
	}

 }






 
Incumbents who were not re-elected

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 10, 2020

Incumbents defeated in the general election

Three incumbents lost in the Nov. 3 general election. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Office
Steven McCleerey	Democratic	House District 1
Michael Saba	Democratic	House District 9
Kelly Sullivan	Democratic	House District 13

Incumbents defeated in primary elections

Four incumbents lost in the June 2 primaries, making 2020 the first year since 2012 that an incumbent Representative was defeated in a primary. That year, Rep. Mark Willadsen (R) lost to challengers Jim Stalzer (R) and Christine M. Erickson (R) in District 11.

Two of the defeated incumbents—James Wangsness and Dayle Hammock—were seeking their first full terms after being appointed by Gov. Kristi Noem (R).

Name	Party	Office
Doug Post	Republican	House District 7
James Wangsness	Republican	House District 23
Thomas Brunner	Republican	House District 29
Dayle Hammock	Republican	House District 31

Retiring incumbents

There were 16 open seats where the incumbent legislator did not file for re-election in 2020. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Current Office
Herman Otten	Republican	House District 6
Isaac Latterell	Republican	House District 6
Manford Steele	Republican	House District 12
Larry P. Zikmund	Republican	House District 14
Nancy Rasmussen	Republican	House District 17
Ray Ring	Democratic	House District 17
Jean Hunhoff	Republican	House District 18
Lee Qualm	Republican	House District 21
Mary Duvall	Republican	House District 24
Tim Rounds	Republican	House District 24
Steve Livermont	Republican	House District 27
Julie Frye-Mueller	Republican	House District 30
Timothy Johns	Republican	House District 31
Scyller Borglum	Republican	House District 32
David Johnson	Republican	House District 33
Michael Diedrich	Republican	House District 34

The 16 seats left open in 2020 represented the lowest number of open seats within the preceding decade. The table below shows the number of open seats in each election held between 2010 and 2020.

Open Seats in South Dakota House of Representatives elections: 2010 - 2020
Year	Total seats	Open seats	Seats with incumbents running for re-election
2020	70	16 (23%)	54 (77%)
2018	70	18 (26%)	52 (74%)
2016	70	28 (40%)	42 (60%)
2014	70	22 (31%)	48 (69%)
2012	70	24 (34%)	46 (66%)
2010	70	22 (31%)	48 (69%)

Process to become a candidate

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in South Dakota

See statutes: Title 19, Chapter 12-6, Title 19, Chapter 12-7 of South Dakota Codified Law

For primary candidates

A primary election candidate must file a petition no earlier than January 1 and no later than the last Tuesday of March at 5 p.m., prior to the primary election. The petition must contain the required signatures and a declaration of candidacy. The declaration of candidacy must be completed before the candidate collects signatures. The declaration must be completed in the presence of an authorized notary public. A petition for party office or partisan public office must be signed by no less than 1 percent of the party's total registered members in the applicable electoral district. For a state legislative candidate, the petition must be signed by the lesser of 50 voters or 1 percent of the party's total registered members in that district. Any state legislative candidate must be a resident of the district for which he or she is a candidate at the time he or she signs the declaration of candidacy.

For independent candidates

Any candidate for nonjudicial public office who is not nominated by a primary election may be nominated as an independent candidate by filing with the South Dakota Secretary of State or county auditor. Filing must be completed no earlier than January 1 at 8:00 a.m. and no later than the last Tuesday of April at 5:00 p.m., prior to the election. An independent candidate's certificate of nomination must be signed by registered voters within the applicable district or political subdivision. The number of signatures required may not be less than 1 percent of the total combined vote cast for governor at the last certified gubernatorial election within the district or political subdivision. Registered party members cannot sign petitions for independent candidates. No petition or certificate of nomination may be circulated prior to January 1 of the year in which the election will be held. Primary election candidates are prohibited from filing as independent candidates for the same office in the same year. No candidate can file a certificate of nomination for an office for which he or she has been a candidate in the primary election of the same year. Any candidate for office in the state legislature must be a resident of the district for which he or she is a candidate.

For write-in candidates

The relevant statutes do not stipulate that a candidate may run as a write-in candidate. Write-in candidates for president are expressly prohibited.

2020 ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for South Dakota House of Representatives candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
South Dakota House of Representatives	Qualified party	Varies by party and district	N/A	3/31/2020	Source
South Dakota House of Representatives	Unaffiliated	1% of total votes cast for governor in the district in the last election	N/A	4/28/2020	Source

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the South Dakota House of Representatives, a candidate must be:

• A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
• 21 years old at the filing deadline time
• A two-year resident of South Dakota at the filing deadline time
• May not have been convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime; may not have illegally taken "public moneys"
• A qualified voter. A qualified voter is someone who is:

* A U.S. citizen

* Reside in South Dakota

* At least 18 years old old on or before the next election

* Not currently serving a sentence for a felony conviction which included imprisonment, served or suspended, in an adult penitentiary system

* Not be judged mentally incompetent by a court of law

* Not have served 4 consecutive terms

Salaries and per diem

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024
Salary	Per diem
$13,436/year	$166/day for legislators who reside more than 50 miles away from the capitol

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

South Dakota legislators assume office the second Tuesday in January after the general election.

South Dakota political history

Trifectas

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-one 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	23	24
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	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	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	R	R

Presidential politics in South Dakota

2016 Presidential election results

U.S. presidential election, South Dakota, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine	31.7%	117,458	0
	Republican	Donald Trump/Mike Pence	61.5%	227,721	3
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson/Bill Weld	5.6%	20,850	0
	Constitution	Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley	1.1%	4,064	0
Total Votes				370,093	3
Election results via: Federal Election Commission

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. South Dakota law allows parties to choose whether to let unaffiliated voters vote in their elections. For more information on recognized political parties in South Dakota and their primary policies, see here.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In South Dakota, all polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If the polls close while you are still in line, you will be permitted to vote. South Dakota is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in South Dakota, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of South Dakota, and at least 18 years old by the day of the next election.

The deadline to register to vote is 15 days before the next election. To register, an applicant may submit a voter registration form to the county auditor. Prospective voters can also register in person at the county auditor's office, driver's license stations, certain public assistance agencies, or military recruitment offices.

Automatic registration

South Dakota does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

South Dakota does not permit online voter registration.

Same-day registration

South Dakota does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in South Dakota, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

South Dakota does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of November 2024, five states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The South Dakota Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

South Dakota requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

Voters can present the following forms of identification:

• South Dakota driver's license or nondriver ID card
• U.S. government photo ID
• U.S. passport
• U.S. Armed Forces ID
• Current student photo identification card from a South Dakota high school or South Dakota accredited institution of higher education
• Tribal photo ID

If a voter does not have a photo ID, he or she can sign a personal identification affidavit. The voter will then be given a regular ballot.

Early voting

South Dakota permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in South Dakota. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.

To vote absentee, an absentee ballot application must be received by county election officials no later than 5 p.m. the day before the election. A completed absentee ballot must then be received by election officials by the close of polls on Election Day.

See also

• South Dakota House of Representatives
• South Dakota State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2020

External links

Suggest a link

• South Dakota State Legislature

Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the South Dakota House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Hugh Bartels

Majority Leader:Will Mortenson

Minority Leader:Oren Lesmeister

Representatives

District 1

Joe Donnell (R)

Tamara St. John (R)

District 2

David Kull (R)

John Sjaarda (R)

District 3

Carl Perry (R)

Brandei Schaefbauer (R)

District 4

Fred Deutsch (R)

Stephanie Sauder (R)

District 5

Hugh Bartels (R)

Byron Callies (R)

District 6

Aaron Aylward (R)

Ernie Otten (R)

District 7

Roger DeGroot (R)

Mellissa Heermann (R)

District 8

John Mills (R)

Tim Reisch (R)

District 9

Bethany Soye (R)

Kenneth Teunissen (R)

District 10

Erin Healy (D)

Kameron Nelson (D)

District 11

Chris Karr (R)

Brian Mulder (R)

District 12

Amber Arlint (R)

Greg Jamison (R)

District 13

Sue Peterson (R)

Tony Venhuizen (R)

District 14

Taylor Rehfeldt (R)

Tyler Tordsen (R)

District 15

Linda Duba (D)

Kadyn Wittman (D)

District 16

Kevin Jensen (R)

Karla Lems (R)

District 17

Chris Kassin (R)

William Shorma (R)

District 18

Julie Auch (R)

Mike Stevens (R)

District 19

Jessica Bahmuller (R)

Drew Peterson (R)

District 20

Lance Koth (R)

Ben Krohmer (R)

District 21

Rocky Blare (R)

Marty Overweg (R)

District 22

Roger Chase (R)

Lynn Schneider (R)

District 23

Scott Moore (R)

James Wangsness (R)

District 24

Will Mortenson (R)

Mike Weisgram (R)

District 25

Randy Gross (R)

Jon Hansen (R)

District 26A

Eric Emery (D)

District 26B

Rebecca Reimer (R)

District 27

Elizabeth May (R)

Peri Pourier (D)

District 28A

Oren Lesmeister (D)

District 28B

Neal Pinnow (R)

District 29

Gary Cammack (R)

Kirk Chaffee (R)

District 30

Dennis Krull (R)

Trish Ladner (R)

District 31

Mary Fitzgerald (R)

Scott Odenbach (R)

District 32

Kristin Conzet (R)

Steve Duffy (R)

District 33

Phil Jensen (R)

Curt Massie (R)

District 34

Mike Derby (R)

Becky Drury (R)

District 35

Tina Mulally (R)

Tony Randolph (R)

Republican Party (63)

Democratic Party (7)