South Dakota 2026 Election Results: Rhoden Elected Governor, Rounds Reelected to Senate

South Dakota voted in the 2026 midterm elections on November 3, and the results below are the collective choice of the state's voters. According to the South Dakota Secretary of State's official count (all precincts reporting, verified against the complete count) and Associated Press race calls, Larry Rhoden was elected governor, Mike Rounds was reelected to the U.S. Senate, Marty Jackley was elected to the U.S. House, and Republicans swept the statewide offices. Of four constitutional amendments, two passed and two were rejected. The full list follows.

Governor and U.S. Senator

Governor: Larry Rhoden (R, incumbent), 193,320 votes, 63.5%, elected. Rhoden succeeded Kristi Noem as governor in 2025 when she left for a federal post, and now wins his first full four-year term; he is the state's first elected governor from the West River region (west of the Missouri River) since 1944. His running mate Tony Venhuizen was elected lieutenant governor on the same ticket. The Secretary of State's official count lists Rhoden at 193,317 votes, consistent with the AP call. Called by the AP.

Governor, other candidates: Dan Ahlers (D), 111,137 votes, 36.5% (111,131 in the official count), has conceded.

U.S. Senator: Mike Rounds (R, incumbent), 184,575 votes, 60.5%, reelected to a third term. Called by the AP.

U.S. Senate, other candidates: Brian Bengs (independent), 120,490 votes, 39.5%. The Democratic nominee, Julian Beaudion, withdrew in August 2026. The state's other senator, John Thune (R), was not up this year; his seat is next contested in 2028.

Other Statewide Offices

Secretary of State: Heather Baxter (R), 172,352 votes, 58.4%, elected, defeating Terrence Davis (D), 106,540 votes, and Tamara Lesnar (Libertarian), 16,260 votes. Called by the AP.

Attorney General: Lance Russell (R), elected unopposed.

State Auditor: Catherine Barranco (R), elected.

State Treasurer: Melissa Hull (R), elected.

Commissioner of School and Public Lands: Brock Greenfield (R), elected.

Public Utilities Commissioner: Don Haggar (R), elected.

In sum, Republicans swept all statewide constitutional offices; except for secretary of state, individual vote totals for this section were not obtained in detail, and winners only are listed pending the Secretary of State's official tally.

Ballot Questions

Amendment I (Medicaid expansion tied to federal funding): would repeal the constitution's Medicaid expansion eligibility requirement if the federal share for the expansion falls below 90%. Rejected: Yes 131,190 votes, 44.2%, to No 165,397. Called by the AP.

Amendment J (citizenship for voting): would state expressly in the constitution that non-citizens are not eligible to vote (the constitution already has a citizenship requirement; this is a clarifying measure). Passed: Yes 183,745 votes, 61.5%, to No 114,913. Called by the AP.

Amendment K (unclaimed property trust fund): would create an unclaimed property trust fund managed by the State Investment Council. Passed: Yes 178,557 votes, 60.9%, to No 114,470. Called by the AP.

Amendment L (raise the amendment threshold to 60%): would require future constitutional amendments to win 60% approval (currently a simple majority). Rejected: Yes 126,157 votes, 42.4%, to No 171,346. Called by the AP.

In sum, of the four legislature-referred amendments, two passed (J and K) and two were rejected (I and L); no citizen-initiated measures or referred laws were on the statewide ballot this year.

U.S. House

Overview: the state has one seat (a single at-large district), held before and after the election by Republicans, with no flip.

At-Large District: Marty Jackley (R, the incumbent state attorney general), 195,574 votes, 64.0%, elected. His opponent Nicole Gronli (D) took 109,973 votes, 36.0%, and has conceded. Called by the AP.

Chinese American / Asian American winners: none; no Chinese American or Asian American winner was found in this race.

State Legislature

State Senate: 35 seats, all up this year. Republicans kept control and their supermajority, with no flip; the provisional split is Republicans 33, Democrats 2 (from 32-3 before). Close districts could face recounts, pending certification.

State House: 70 seats, all up this year. Republicans kept control and their supermajority, with no flip; the provisional split is Republicans 59, Democrats 10 and one independent (from 65-5 before).

In sum, Democrats hold 12 seats across both chambers (from 8 before), a net gain of four, all in the House and concentrated around Sioux Falls — their first net legislative gain since 2008. Seat counts are provisional tallies pending certification.

Counting and Certification

The Secretary of State's unofficial count showed all 671 precincts reporting, with statewide turnout of 49.37% (310,298 ballots out of 628,563 registered voters); the governor and Senate totals were verified against the Secretary of State's complete official count. Figures are from the official count and AP calls, pending county canvasses and state certification. Final results are subject to official certification, and GSM will update this list accordingly.

Related: 2026 midterm results: all 50 states

Source: South Dakota Secretary of State

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图片来源：南达科他州议会大厦（Pierre），摄影 w_lemay，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）

Latest in States

Gunman Drives Into Florida Citibank Campus and Opens Fire, Killing a Woman Before Guard Shoots Him Dead2026-11-04Kentucky 2026 Election Results: Barr Holds the Open U.S. Senate Seat, Pardon-Limit Amendment Passes with 70.7%2026-11-04