United States Senate election in South Dakota, 2020

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U.S. Senate, South Dakota
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 31, 2020
Primary: June 2, 2020
Primary runoff: August 11, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Mike Rounds (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in South Dakota
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
U.S. Senate, South Dakota
U.S. Senate • At-large
South Dakota elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Voters in South Dakota elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 3, 2020.

Incumbent Mike Rounds won election in the general election for U.S. Senate South Dakota.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 31, 2020
June 2, 2020
November 3, 2020


The election filled the Class II Senate seat held by Mike Rounds (R). Rounds was first elected in 2014.

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.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. Senate South Dakota

Incumbent Mike Rounds defeated Dan Ahlers in the general election for U.S. Senate South Dakota on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike Rounds
Mike Rounds (R)
 
65.7
 
276,232
Image of Dan Ahlers
Dan Ahlers (D) Candidate Connection
 
34.3
 
143,987

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 420,219
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Dan Ahlers advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate South Dakota.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Dakota

Incumbent Mike Rounds defeated Scyller Borglum in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Dakota on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike Rounds
Mike Rounds
 
75.2
 
70,365
Image of Scyller Borglum
Scyller Borglum
 
24.8
 
23,164

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 93,529
Candidate Connection = 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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in South Dakota in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Dakota, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
South Dakota U.S. Senate Democratic 1,615 1% of all votes cast for Democratic gubernatorial nominee in last election N/A N/A 3/31/2020 Source
South Dakota U.S. Senate Republican 1,730 1% of all votes cast for Republican gubernatorial nominee in last election N/A N/A 3/31/2020 Source
South Dakota U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 3,393 1% of all votes cast for governor in the last election N/A N/A 4/28/2020 Source

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[1] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[2]

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Mike Rounds Republican Party $4,809,311 $3,246,188 $1,682,522 As of December 31, 2020
Dan Ahlers Democratic Party $273,833 $253,114 $20,719 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[3]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[4][5][6]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in South Dakota, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Election history

2016

U.S. Senate, South Dakota General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Thune Incumbent 71.8% 265,516
     Democratic Jay Williams 28.2% 104,140
Total Votes 369,656
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State

2014

U.S. Senate, South Dakota General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMike Rounds 50.4% 140,741
     Democratic Rick Weiland 29.5% 82,456
     Independent Larry Pressler 17.1% 47,741
     Independent Gordon Howie 3% 8,474
Total Votes 279,412
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State

2010

On November 2, 2010, Thune won re-election to the United States Senate. He ran unopposed in the general election.[7]

U.S. Senate, South Dakota General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Thune Incumbent 100% 227,947
Total Votes 227,947

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  2. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  3. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  4. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  5. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  6. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  7. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
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South Dakota's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Mike Rounds (R)
John Thune (R)
Representatives
Republican Party (3)

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