akashic
1876–2024
Hughes County, South Dakota
Hughes County·South Dakota

Hughes County has voted Republican for as long as anyone can remember.

Home to the state capital, yet still a reliable Republican stronghold

18762024·38 elections
Hughes County, South Dakota · Jeffrey Beall · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+30
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
17,664
2024 ACS
Most similar
Davie County
NC · similarity 0.99
26 precincts · 8,435 votes cast
Trump · R+30
0102030405060708091011121314151617181920212223242526
Precinct
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Hover precincts for detail. Real precinct boundaries forthcoming.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−30.1%
2,8385,3798,435
2020R
−29.5%
2,9535,5228,723
2016R
−33.3%
2,4505,1748,175
2012R
−29.8%
2,7865,2198,155
2008R
−26.7%
3,0375,2988,468
2004R
−37.6%
2,6976,0178,835
2000D
+39.5%
5,1882,2127,534
1996R
−21.4%
2,7884,4697,868
1992R
−21.5%
2,5784,3258,121
1988R
−22.7%
2,8534,5457,442
1984R
−41.1%
2,0724,9857,089
1980R
−41.2%
1,7514,6527,048
1976R
−22.8%
2,5063,9976,536
1972R
−34.9%
2,0374,2316,282
1968R
−29.5%
1,6663,2045,213
1964R
−2.4%
2,6062,7325,338
1960R
−24.0%
2,0363,3205,356
1956R
−26.8%
1,6872,9234,610
1952R
−51.7%
9332,9323,865
1948R
−23.3%
1,0801,7392,831
1944R
−28.2%
9381,6762,614
1940R
−18.5%
1,3621,9823,344
1936D
+3.5%
1,6621,5473,312
1932D
+14.6%
1,8521,3743,270
1928R
−23.9%
1,1711,9123,106
1924R
−39.5%
3251,2602,368
1920R
−45.8%
4331,3131,922
1916D
+6.3%
6115361,195
1912D
+50.5%
54401,077
1908R
−37.4%
3497951,193
1904R
−46.2%
3359291,287
1900R
−32.4%
272537818
1896R
−17.0%
327462794
1892R
−48.9%
102459730
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Mainline Protestant
23.6%
Catholic & Orthodox
15.8%
Other Christian
13.9%
Methodist
3.9%
Baptist
3.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
3.2%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 35.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Hughes County anchors South Dakota's government sector around Pierre, but the presence of the state capital hasn't shifted its presidential margins — Republicans carried it by nearly 30 points in 2020.

The Republican margin in Hughes County reached its widest at fifty-two points in 1952. The margin in 2024 was thirty points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Hughes County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $81,395, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 17,664 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Davie County and Union County.