- Lead
- 2,778
- Total
- 11,599
- vs nation
- R+28.4
South Dakota 3rd State Senate District
President margin by year
Place winner margin
President results by year
Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries
- Lead
- 2,951
- Total
- 10,536
- vs nation
- R+30.1
- Lead
- 872
- Total
- 10,534
- vs nation
- R+12.1
- Lead
- 328
- Total
- 11,209
- vs nation
- R+4.3
- Lead
- 1,976
- Total
- 12,227
- vs nation
- R+13.7
- Lead
- 1,390
- Total
- 10,808
- vs nation
- R+13.4
- Lead
- 496
- Total
- 10,784
- vs nation
- R+3.9
- Lead
- 415
- Total
- 11,964
- vs nation
- R+2.1
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- —MIT Election Lab
- Population
- 26,5952024 5-year
- Population density
- 723 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
- Land area
- 36.8 sq miTIGER/Line
- Median household income
- $64,8382024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 83.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+48.2 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40.7 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- State Senate District 1, SD · twin score 95.2
presidential history
Party record book
South Dakota 3rd State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2020 · 19 presidential cycles
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
William J. Bryan1896
52.6%
1,276 votes · D+5.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 50.3%
Republican
Theodore Roosevelt1904
63.3%
1,827 votes · R+38.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Ronald Reagan, 1984 · 61.6%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2008
5,636votes
50.3% of the vote · D+2.9 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Michael Dukakis, 1988 · 5,412 votes
Republican
Ronald Reagan1980
7,099votes
59.2% of the vote · R+26.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Ronald Reagan, 1984 · 7,090 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Woodrow Wilson1912
+28.7pts D vs U.S.
Place D+48.2 · U.S. D+19.5 · a third-party candidate carried the Place · modeled estimate
Runner-up · William J. Bryan, 1896 · +11.9 pts
Republican
Benjamin Harrison1892
+35.6pts R vs U.S.
Place R+33.9 · U.S. D+1.7 · a third-party candidate carried the Place · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2016 · +30.1 pts
Current officeholders
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
| Year | Vote lead | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | R | 0.0%0 | 100.0%9,624 | 9,624 |
| 2018 | R | 39.6%3,849 | 60.4%5,860 | 9,709 |
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+54.1, this sparsely populated district in South Dakota ranks among the most one-sided in the state, reflecting the deep Republican alignment typical of rural northern Plains constituencies.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 48.2 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 40.7 points in 1920. The 2024 margin was 24.0 points.
A population of 26,595, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,838 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 1 and State Senate District 25.
The state-senate districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
District research tools
Open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report → · Browse all comparisons →
South Dakota 3rd State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46003/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.