# 1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota

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The 1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Republican Senator Karl E. Mundt ran for re-election to his fourth term. He was challenged in the Republican primary by a John Birch Society member, but easily turned away the challenge. In the general election, he faced State Representative Donn Wright, the Democratic nominee. Owing in large part to the Republican landslide taking place nationwide, Mundt defeated Wright by an unprecedented margin.
South Dakota would not elect another Senator to a fourth term until John Thune in 2022, it was dubbed the "Mundt curse".

## Democratic primary

State Representative Donn Wright from Aurora County announced that he would run against Mundt on April 18, 1966, the only Democratic candidate to do so. As Wright was the only candidate to file for the nomination, he won the primary unopposed and the race was removed from the primary election ballot.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Karl E. Mundt, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Richard B. Murphy, attorney, John Birch Society member

### Results

Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Karl E. Mundt (inc.) | 66,758 | 82.06% |
| | Republican | Richard B. Murphy | 14,593 | 17.94% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 81,351 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Results

1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Karl E. Mundt (inc.) | 150,517 | 66.28% | +13.84% |
| | Democratic | Donn H. Wright | 76,653 | 33.72% | −13.84% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 73,954 | 32.57% | +27.68% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 227,080 | 100.00% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |