Republicans Take Nearly Nine in Ten Seats in South Dakota's 2027 Legislature While Independents, 25.1% of Voters, Win One Seat
The party makeup of South Dakota's 2027 state legislature is set. Of the 105 seats, counting candidates by the affiliation on their ballots, Republicans won 92 seats, Democrats 12, and one seat went to a candidate who ran as an independent; counting legislators by their voter-registration party, the split is 93 Republicans and 12 Democrats. Republicans hold more than two-thirds of both chambers: 33-2 in the Senate, and in the House 59 Republicans, 10 Democrats and one independent.
The makeup diverges sharply from the state's voter registration. According to Secretary of State registration data, Republicans make up 52.8% of registered voters, Democrats 21.5%, and independents 25.1%.
Evangeline Poor Bear, elected to the House from District 27, appeared on the ballot as an independent and is the first candidate elected to the legislature as an independent since 2010. She told reporters she aligns with Republicans and ran as an independent because she missed the partisan filing deadline; Secretary of State records also list her registration as Republican. On that basis, independent voters have no legislator elected under an independent label speaking for their registration bloc as such.
Turnout in this year's general election fell below 50%, the lowest since records began in 1964. The new legislature convenes in Pierre on January 12, 2027.
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南达科他州议会大厦。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
