South Dakota, South Dakota
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −36.5% |
| 1896 | +0.2% |
| 1900 | −15.6% |
| 1904 | −49.4% |
| 1908 | −23.8% |
| 1912 | +42.1% |
| 1916 | −3.9% |
| 1920 | −41.0% |
| 1924 | −36.3% |
| 1928 | −21.0% |
| 1932 | +29.2% |
| 1936 | +11.5% |
| 1940 | −14.8% |
| 1944 | −16.7% |
| 1948 | −4.8% |
| 1952 | −38.5% |
| 1956 | −16.8% |
| 1960 | −16.4% |
| 1964 | +11.2% |
| 1968 | −11.3% |
| 1972 | −8.6% |
| 1976 | −1.5% |
| 1980 | −28.8% |
| 1984 | −26.5% |
| 1988 | −6.3% |
| 1992 | −3.5% |
| 1996 | −3.5% |
| 2000 | −22.7% |
| 2004 | −21.3% |
| 2008 | −8.4% |
| 2012 | −18.0% |
| 2016 | −29.8% |
| 2020 | −26.2% |
| 2024 | −29.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 34.2%Harris146,859 | 63.4%Trump272,081 | 1.7%Kennedy7,204 | 428,922 | ||
| R | 35.6%Biden150,471 | 61.8%Trump261,043 | 2.6%Jorgensen11,095 | 422,609 | ||
| R | 31.7%Clinton117,466 | 61.5%Trump227,731 | 5.6%Johnson20,850 | 370,111 | ||
| R | 39.9%Obama145,039 | 57.9%Romney210,610 | 1.6%Johnson5,795 | 363,815 | ||
| R | 44.7%Obama170,924 | 53.2%McCain203,054 | 1.1%Nader4,267 | 381,975 | ||
| R | 38.6%Kerry149,974 | 59.8%Bush232,646 | 1.1%Nader4,320 | 389,000 | ||
| R | 37.6%Gore118,804 | 60.3%Bush190,700 | 1.1%Buchanan3,322 | 316,269 | ||
| R | 43.0%Clinton139,333 | 46.5%Dole150,543 | 0.5%Browne1,472 | 323,737 | ||
| R | 37.1%Clinton124,888 | 40.7%Bush136,718 | 21.8%Perot73,295 | 336,254 | ||
| R | 46.5%Dukakis145,560 | 52.8%Bush165,415 | 0.6%Paul2,016 | 312,991 | ||
| R | 36.5%Mondale116,113 | 63.0%Reagan200,267 | 0.4%Serrette1,150 | 317,867 | ||
| R | 31.7%Carter103,855 | 60.5%Reagan198,343 | 6.5%Anderson21,431 | 327,703 | ||
| R | 48.9%Carter147,068 | 50.4%Ford151,505 | 0.5%Macbride1,619 | 300,678 | ||
| R | 45.5%McGovern139,945 | 54.2%Nixon166,476 | 0.3%Schmitz994 | 307,415 | ||
| R | 42.0%Humphrey118,023 | 53.3%Nixon149,841 | 4.8%Wallace13,400 | 281,264 | ||
| D | 55.6%Johnson163,010 | 44.4%Goldwater130,108 | 0.0% | 293,118 | ||
| R | 41.8%Kennedy128,070 | 58.2%Nixon178,417 | 0.0% | 306,487 | ||
| R | 41.6%Stevenson122,288 | 58.4%Eisenhower171,569 | 0.0% | 293,857 | ||
| R | 30.7%Stevenson90,426 | 69.3%Eisenhower203,857 | 0.0% | 294,283 | ||
| R | 47.0%Truman117,653 | 51.8%Dewey129,651 | 1.1%Thurmond2,801 | 250,105 | ||
| R | 41.7%Roosevelt96,711 | 58.3%Dewey135,365 | 0.0% | 232,076 | ||
| R | 42.6%Roosevelt131,362 | 57.4%Willkie177,065 | 0.0% | 308,427 | ||
| D | 54.0%Roosevelt160,137 | 42.5%Landon125,977 | 3.5%Lemke10,338 | 296,452 | ||
| D | 63.6%Roosevelt183,515 | 34.4%Hoover99,212 | 2.0%Thomas5,711 | 288,438 | ||
| R | 39.2%Smith102,660 | 60.2%Hoover157,603 | 0.6%Thomas1,594 | 261,857 | ||
| R | 13.3%Davis27,214 | 49.7%Coolidge101,299 | 37.0%La Follette75,355 | 203,868 | ||
| R | 19.7%Cox35,938 | 60.7%Harding110,692 | 19.5%Debs35,607 | 182,237 | ||
| R | 45.9%Wilson59,191 | 49.8%Hughes64,217 | 4.3%Benson5,534 | 128,942 | ||
| O | 42.1%Wilson48,942 | 0.0%Taft0 | 57.9%Roosevelt67,385 | 116,327 | ||
| R | 35.1%Bryan40,266 | 58.8%Taft67,536 | 6.1%Debs6,973 | 114,775 | ||
| R | 21.7%Parker21,969 | 71.1%Roosevelt72,083 | 7.2%Debs7,343 | 101,395 | ||
| R | 41.1%Bryan39,538 | 56.7%McKinley54,574 | 2.1%Woolley2,057 | 96,169 | ||
| D | 49.7%Bryan41,021 | 49.5%McKinley40,892 | 0.8%Palmer677 | 82,590 | ||
| R | 12.9%Cleveland9,085 | 49.4%Harrison34,888 | 37.7%Weaver26,644 | 70,617 |
2026 election
On the ballot
Governor
Dan Ahlerspresumptive nomineeLarry RhodenToby Doeden
Not an open seat: incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) is running for a first full term (he ascended in Jan 2025 when Kristi Noem became DHS Secretary). The June 2 2026 primary was held but the GOP race is UNRESOLVED: in SD's first-ever gubernatorial primary runoff (35% threshold law), businessman Toby Doeden (1st, ~31%) and incumbent Rhoden (2nd, ~25%) advance to a July 28 2026 runoff; U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson was eliminated. Dan Ahlers is the sole/presumptive Democratic nominee.
U.S. Senate
Mike RoundsnomineeBrian BengsnomineeJulian Beaudionnominee
Primary 2026-06-02. Rounds won GOP ~75.8%. Beaudion (NOT Ahlers) is the Dem nominee.
Source · Akashic 2026 forecast.
Congressional elections · 28 House races · 16 Senate races
U.S. House
| Year | Seats won | D % | R % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R 1 | 28.0% | 72.0% | 421,448 | |
| R 1 | 0.0% | 77.4% | 327,841 | |
| R 1 | 0.0% | 81.0% | 397,732 | |
| R 1 | 36.0% | 60.3% | 335,471 |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 26.1%91,007 | 69.6%242,316 | 348,020 |
| 2020 | R | 34.3%143,987 | 65.7%276,232 | 420,219 |
| 2016 | R | 28.2%104,140 | 71.8%265,516 | 369,656 |
| 2014 | R | 29.5%82,456 | 50.4%140,741 | 279,412 |
| 2010 | R | 0.0%0 | 100.0%227,947 | 227,947 |
| 2008 | D | 62.5%237,889 | 37.5%142,784 | 380,673 |
| 2004 | R | 49.4%193,340 | 50.6%197,848 | 391,188 |
| 2002 | D | 49.6%167,481 | 49.5%166,949 | 337,501 |
| 1998 | D | 62.1%162,884 | 36.4%95,431 | 262,111 |
| 1996 | D | 51.3%166,533 | 48.7%157,954 | 324,487 |
| 1992 | D | 64.9%217,095 | 32.5%108,733 | 334,495 |
| 1990 | R | 45.1%116,727 | 52.4%135,682 | 258,976 |
| 1986 | D | 51.6%152,657 | 48.4%143,173 | 295,830 |
| 1984 | R | 25.5%80,537 | 74.5%235,176 | 315,713 |
| 1980 | R | 39.4%129,018 | 58.2%190,594 | 327,478 |
| 1978 | R | 33.2%84,767 | 66.8%170,832 | 255,599 |
The only Democratic ground in one of the country’s most Republican states is the reservation — Oglala Lakota County voted Democratic by 70.6 points.
- Among the most Republican states
- R+29.2 in 2024 (272,081 to 146,859) — Republican every cycle since 1968, and 3 points wider than R+26.2 in 2020 · MIT Election Lab
- One of the bluest counties in America
- Oglala Lakota County (Pine Ridge) voted D+70.6 — 2,567 to 406 — among the widest county margins in the United States · MIT Election Lab 2024
- The Democratic ground is the reservation
- Todd D+50.5 (Rosebud), Buffalo D+27.3 (Crow Creek), Dewey D+12.8 (Cheyenne River); with Oglala Lakota and university-seat Clay (D+6.5), the state’s only five Democratic counties · MIT Election Lab 2024
- The reddest corner
- Harding County, in the far northwest, voted R+86.1 — the widest margin in the state; 61 of 66 counties went Republican · MIT Election Lab 2024
- Even the largest county held Republican
- Minnehaha County (Sioux Falls), more than a fifth of the state’s votes, ran R+12.7; Pennington (Rapid City) R+26.4, Lincoln R+26.5 · MIT Election Lab 2024
- U.S. Senate in 2026
- Sen. Mike Rounds (R) seeks a third term against Democrat Julian Beaudion and independent Brian Bengs · Akashic 2026 forecast
Political twins — states
The states whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
North Dakota
North Dakota
93.0twin score
2000–2024 trajectory≠ Norwegian ancestry
Wyoming
Wyoming
71.3twin score
2016–2024 trajectorypopulation scale≠ 2008 margin
Nebraska
Nebraska
71.0twin score
2000–2020 trajectory≠ 12-yr trend
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.
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.
South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/state/SD/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Embed this page
A live widget for your site — no API key, attribution built in, CC BY 4.0. All widgets & sizes →
South Dakota at the ballot boxAll elections →
Places within South Dakota
Frequently asked questions
How did South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota voted Republican by 29.2 points (R+29.2), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 428,922 votes cast, 146,859 went Democratic and 272,081 went Republican.
When did South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in South Dakota?
South Dakota has a population of 907,428 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota?
Median household income in South Dakota is $75,081 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in South Dakota from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 29 went Republican.