Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • School boards • Candidate ballot access

South Dakota held an election for one seat on the Public Utilities Commission on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Chris Nelson (R) won election to a full term.

HIGHLIGHTS

Incumbent and chairman of the commission Chris Nelson (R)—who was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2011—ran for election to a full six-year term. He won the Republican nomination at the June 25 convention.

Democrats nominated Henry Red Cloud, a solar energy entrepreneur and member of the Lakota tribe, at their June 25 convention.

A Democrat has not sat on the commission since 2005; with only one seat up for election, Republicans were guaranteed to maintain majority control.

Nelson won the general election on November 8, 2016.

Overview

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission regulates utility companies, helps to resolve disputes between customers and their utilities, operates safety programs, and licenses and inspects state public grain warehouses and grain buyers.

One seat was up for election in 2016; major party candidates for public service commissioner were chosen at the party conventions in lieu of appearing on the primary ballot. Incumbent Chris Nelson (R), who was appointed to the commission to fill a vacancy in 2011, ran for re-election to a full six-year term. Democrats nominated solar energy entrepreneur and Lakota tribe member Henry Red Cloud; the two competed in the November 8 general election.

All three of the seats on the Public Utilities Commission are held by Republicans. Because only one seat was up for election in 2016, Republicans were guaranteed to retain a majority of the seats on the commission. However, it was possible for Democrats to weaken Republican control of the commission.

A Democrat has not served on the commission since Jim Burg left office in 2005.

Candidates

Henry Red Cloud (D)
Founder and owner, Lakota Solar Enterprises

Chris Nelson (R)
Incumbent public utilities commissioner since 2011

Results

Incumbent Chris Nelson defeated Henry Red Cloud in the South Dakota public utilities commission election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Nelson Incumbent	75.38%	268,927
	Democratic	Henry Red Cloud	24.62%	87,841
Total Votes				356,768
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State

Context of the 2016 election

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. In South Dakota, the Democratic Party conducts a hybrid primary, in which both registered party members and unaffiliated voters may participate. The Republican Party limits participation in its primary to registered party members.^[1] However, major party candidates for public service commissioner were chosen at the party conventions in lieu of appearing on the primary ballot.

South Dakota's primary elections took place on June 7, 2016, with the conventions June 24 to June 25.

Incumbent Chris Nelson (R)

Nelson was first appointed by Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) to fill a vacancy on the commission in January 2011. He won a special election in 2012 by a 34 percent margin to serve the remaining four years of the term. Nelson had previously served two terms as secretary of state from 2002 to 2011, and ran unopposed in the general election for his second term. Nelson also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 2010.

Prior to his tenure in state government, Nelson worked in the secretary of state's office as the state election supervisor and as the uniform commercial code supervisor.

Party control in South Dakota

South Dakota state government has been under Republican trifecta control since 1995. Additionally, the governor's seat has been held by a Republican since 1978, and the state's electoral votes have not gone to a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.^[2] All partisan executive offices are also held by Republicans. However, Democrats still have had success in recent statewide elections—Democrat Tim Johnson represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1997 to 2015, and Democrat Thomas A. Daschle also held a Senate seat from 1987 to 2005.

All three of the seats on the Public Utilities Commission were held by Republicans. No Democrat has served on the commission since Jim Burg left office in 2005.^[3]^[4]

Campaigns

Campaign finance

Chris Nelson Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Year end	January 1, 2016	$14,612.25	$25,580.23	$(3,355.49)	$36,836.99
			Running totals
			$25,580.23	$(3,355.49)

Campaign media

Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!

Republicans

Chris Nelson (R)

About the office

The South Dakota Public Utilites Commission is a three-person, elected executive board in the South Dakota state government. The commission regulates utility companies, helps to resolve disputes between customers and their utilities, operates safety programs, and licenses and inspects state public grain warehouses and grain buyers.^[5]

Incumbents

	Key election dates
	Filing deadline (major parties): ; March 29, 2016
	Filing deadline (independents): ; April 26, 2016
	Primary date: ; June 7, 2016
	State conventions:; June 24, 2016 ; June 24, 2016
	General election date: ; November 8, 2016
	Recount request deadline: ; November 18, 2016
	Inauguration: ; TBD

	← 2014
	South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Election
	Primary Date: ; June 7, 2016
	General Election Date: ; November 8, 2016
	November Election Winner: ; Chris Nelson (R)
	Incumbent Prior to Election: ; Chris Nelson (R) (Chairman)
	State Executive Elections Top Ballot; None; Down Ballot; Public Service Commission

At the time of the election, the commissioners were chair Chris Nelson (R), vice-chair Kristie Fiegen (R), and Gary Hanson (R).^[6]

Authority

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission was established in Chapter 49 of the South Dakota laws.^[7]

Chapter 49-1-8:

Creation of Public Utilities Commission--Secretary--Seal. The Public Utilities Commissioners who are elected shall constitute a commission to be known and designated as the Public Utilities Commission of the State of South Dakota.

Past elections

The three public service commissioners are elected to staggered, six-year terms.^[5]

2014

See also: South Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Republican incumbent Gary Hanson won re-election on November 4, 2014.

South Dakota Public Service Commissioner, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gary Hanson Incumbent	65.7%	167,726
	Democratic	David Allen	29.3%	74,824
	Constitution	Wayne Schmidt	5%	12,642
Total Votes				255,192
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State

2012

See also: South Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2012

The 2012 election was unusual because two of the three commissioners were up for re-election. This was because both Commissioners Nelson and Fiegen had been appointed to the commission in 2011 in order to fill vacancies. According to South Dakota law, each had to run for election during the next available election cycle. Nelson ran to complete his predecessor's four year term. Fiegen ran for a full six-year term because her predecessor's term expired in 2012.

Both of the incumbents who sought election in 2012 to the Public Utilities Commission were successful. Chris Nelson (R) defeated Nick Nemec (D), and Kristie Fiegen (R) overtook Matt McGovern (D) and Russel Clarke (L) to win the general election on November 6, 2012.^[8]

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Seat 1 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Nelson Incumbent	67%	226,508
	Democratic	Nick Nemec	33%	111,405
Total Votes				337,913
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Seat 2 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Matt McGovern	40.4%	140,443
	Republican	Kristie Fiegen Incumbent	53.9%	187,383
	Libertarian	Russell Clarke	5.7%	19,696
Total Votes				347,522
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State

2010

On November 2, 2010, Dustin “Dusty” Johnson won re-election to the office of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He defeated Doyle Karpen (D) in the general election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dustin “Dusty” Johnson Incumbent	73.2%	217,346
	Democratic	Doyle Karpen	26.8%	79,543
Total Votes				296,889
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

2008

On November 4, 2008, Gary Hanson won re-election to the office of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He defeated Matt McLarty (D) and Eugene R. Hidalgo (C) in the general election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gary Hanson Incumbent	64.9%	222,893
	Democratic	Matt McLarty	31.6%	108,477
	Constitution	Eugene R. Hidalgo	3.5%	12,064
Total Votes				343,434
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Steve Kolbeck won election to the office of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He defeated John Koskan (R) and Ben Sutter (L) in the general election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steve Kolbeck	49.4%	148,036
	Republican	John Koskan	47.3%	141,856
	Libertarian	Ben Sutter	3.3%	9,953
Total Votes				299,845
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

2004

On November 2, 2004, Dustin “Dusty” Johnson won election to the office of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He defeated Jim Burg (D), Tony Ryan (L) and Steve Willis (C) in the general election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dustin “Dusty” Johnson	54.8%	196,974
	Democratic	Jim Burg	41.8%	150,303
	Libertarian	Tony Ryan	2%	7,326
	Constitution	Steve Willis	1.4%	5,094
Total Votes				359,697
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

2002

On November 5, 2002, Gary Hanson won election to the office of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (6 year term). He defeated Pam Nelson (D) in the general election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (6 year term), 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gary Hanson	56.7%	180,670
	Democratic	Pam Nelson Incumbent	43.3%	138,150
Total Votes				318,820
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

On November 5, 2002, Robert Sahr won re-election to the office of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (4 year term). He defeated Curt Johnson (D) in the general election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (4 year term), 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert Sahr Incumbent	51.7%	160,889
	Democratic	Curt Johnson	48.3%	150,437
Total Votes				311,326
Election results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

Recent news

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

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election, 2016 - Google News

State profile

Demographic data for South Dakota
	South Dakota	U.S.
Total population:	857,919	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	75,811	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	85%	73.6%
Black/African American:	1.6%	12.6%
Asian:	1.2%	5.1%
Native American:	8.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.6%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$50,957	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota. **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.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Dakota

South Dakota voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Dakota, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.^[9]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Dakota had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More South Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia

External links

Suggest a link

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

Footnotes

[1] National Conference of State Legislatures, "Primary types," accessed January 21, 2015

[2] National Archives and Records Administration, "Historical Election Results," accessed June 23, 2016

[3] LinkedIn, "James Burg," accessed June 23, 2016

[4] South Dakota Secretary of State, "Search for historical election data," accessed June 23, 2016

[about-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Puc.SD.gov, "About the PUC," accessed October 24, 2011

[6] South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, "Home," accessed January 22, 2015

[7] Legis.state.SD.us, "South Dakota codified laws," accessed October 24, 2011

[sdresults-8] South Dakota Secretary of State, "Statewide races-Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012

[9] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

	v • e State of South Dakota Pierre (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2024 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election, 2016