South Dakota 26th State Senate District, South Dakota: Tossup district. In 2024, voted R+15%. Democratic peak: D+47 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+15MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- TossupAkashic typology
- Population
- 25,7802024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,5312024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 43.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+47 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+31 in 1892MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 26, SDOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,735 | 5,121 | 9,090 | ||
| R | 4,359 | 5,341 | 9,925 | ||
| R | 3,429 | 4,884 | 8,863 | ||
| R | 4,798 | 4,805 | 9,763 | ||
| D | 5,336 | 4,787 | 10,348 | ||
| D | 5,984 | 5,771 | 12,000 | ||
| D | 4,604 | 3,262 | 8,068 | ||
| D | 4,518 | 3,924 | 9,358 | ||
| R | 3,603 | 3,735 | 9,218 | ||
| R | 4,191 | 4,219 | 8,478 | ||
| R | 3,552 | 5,763 | 9,374 | ||
| R | 3,288 | 6,103 | 10,119 | ||
| D | 4,667 | 4,536 | 9,276 | ||
| R | 4,759 | 5,607 | 10,409 | ||
| R | 4,384 | 4,969 | 9,986 | ||
| D | 6,707 | 4,247 | 10,954 | ||
| R | 4,994 | 5,765 | 10,759 | ||
| R | 5,221 | 5,288 | 10,509 | ||
| R | 3,777 | 6,647 | 10,424 | ||
| D | 4,792 | 4,333 | 9,232 | ||
| R | 3,834 | 4,274 | 8,108 | ||
| R | 6,256 | 6,717 | 12,973 | ||
| D | 7,068 | 4,693 | 11,955 | ||
| D | 9,341 | 3,813 | 13,348 | ||
| R | 5,623 | 6,295 | 12,014 | ||
| R | 2,318 | 4,896 | 10,657 | ||
| R | 1,839 | 3,695 | 6,333 | ||
| R | 2,304 | 2,755 | 5,253 | ||
| O | 2,138 | 0 | 4,514 | ||
| R | 2,148 | 2,546 | 4,905 | ||
| R | 1,016 | 1,980 | 3,129 | ||
| R | 1,078 | 1,269 | 2,361 | ||
| D | 929 | 781 | 1,718 | ||
| R | 233 | 703 | 1,518 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.4%
American
6.4%
Irish
5.1%
English
3.8%
French
1.2%
Scottish
0.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 32.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$58,531
State Senate District 26 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 26$58,531
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
30.2%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1835.9%
Working age (18–64)27.4%
Seniors (65+)17.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
82.1%
speak English only
Other languages14.9%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Spanish0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 41.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
South Dakota 26th State Senate District in the Northern Plains delivered a near-tie in 2024, with the Republican candidate carrying the district by fifteen points — well within the historical noise of how the district votes.
The district's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached forty-seven points in 1912; the Republican margin reached thirty-one points in 1892. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.
Its demographics — a population of 25,780, a 44% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $58,531 — situate the district close to national averages on several dimensions.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State Senate District 26, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46026/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 26, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 26, South Dakota voted Republican by 15.2 points (R+15), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 9,090 votes cast, 3,735 went Democratic and 5,121 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 26, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 26, South Dakota as a "Tossup" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 23 times, and other 1 times.
When did State Senate District 26, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 26, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in State Senate District 26, South Dakota?
State Senate District 26, South Dakota has a population of 25,780 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State Senate District 26, South Dakota?
Median household income in State Senate District 26, South Dakota is $58,531 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of State Senate District 26, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 26, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.