# 2020 South Dakota Senate election

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Elections to the South Dakota Senate were held on November 3, 2020 as a part of the biennial elections in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Voters in 35 single-member constituencies elected members to the 93rd Senate. Elections were also held in the state for U.S. president, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, and the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Primary elections were held on June 2, 2020.

## Background

The Republican Party had been in majority control of the Senate since 1995, and had not come close to losing it since then. Although the Democratic Party held some support from urban areas and districts with a large Native American population, they had been losing seats over time; the last time Democrats held a number of seats in the double digits was 2010.

## Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe R | October 21, 2020 |

## Results
### Overview

Summary of the November 3, 2020 South Dakota Senate election :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Before | After | +/– |
| | Republican | 35 | 271,017 | 72.83 | 30 | 32 | 2 |
| | Democratic | 17 | 78,110 | 20.99 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| | Libertarian | 7 | 13,938 | 3.75 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Independent | 2 | 9,045 | 2.43 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | Total | 372,110 | 100.00 | 35 | 35 | |
| Registered/Turnout | Registered/Turnout | Registered/Turnout | 578,655 | 64.31 | | | |
| Source: South Dakota Secretary of State ||||||||||
Popular vote
Republican
72.83%
Democratic
20.99%
Libertarian
3.75%
Others
2.43% :
Senate seats
Republican
91.43%
Democratic
8.57% :

### By district

| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Party |
| 1st | Susan Wismer | Dem | Michael H. Rohl | Rep |
| 2nd | Brock Greenfield | Rep | Brock Greenfield | Rep |
| 3rd | Al Novstrup | Rep | Al Novstrup | Rep |
| 4th | John Wiik | Rep | John Wiik | Rep |
| 5th | Lee Schoenbeck | Rep | Lee Schoenbeck | Rep |
| 6th | Ernie Otten | Rep | Herman Otten | Rep |
| 7th | V. J. Smith | Rep | V. J. Smith | Rep |
| 8th | Casey Crabtree | Rep | Casey Crabtree | Rep |
| 9th | Wayne Steinhauer | Rep | Wayne Steinhauer | Rep |
| 10th | Margaret Sutton | Rep | Margaret Sutton | Rep |
| 11th | Jim Stalzer | Rep | Jim Stalzer | Rep |
| 12th | Blake Curd | Rep | Blake Curd | Rep |
| 13th | Jack Kolbeck | Rep | Jack Kolbeck | Rep |
| 14th | Deb Soholt | Rep | Larry Zikmund | Rep |
| 15th | Reynold Nesiba | Dem | Reynold Nesiba | Dem |
| 16th | Jim Bolin | Rep | Jim Bolin | Rep |
| 17th | Arthur Rusch | Rep | Arthur Rusch | Rep |
| 18th | Craig Kennedy | Dem | Jean Hunhoff | Rep |
| 19th | Kyle Schoenfish | Rep | Kyle Schoenfish | Rep |
| 20th | Joshua Klumb | Rep | Joshua Klumb | Rep |
| 21st | Rocky Blare | Rep | Erin Tobin | Rep |
| 22nd | Jim White | Rep | David Wheeler | Rep |
| 23rd | John A. Lake | Rep | Bryan J. Breitling | Rep |
| 24th | Jeff Monroe | Rep | Mary Duvall | Rep |
| 25th | Kris Langer | Rep | Marsha Symens | Rep |
| 26th | Troy Heinert | Dem | Troy Heinert | Dem |
| 27th | Red Dawn Foster | Dem | Red Dawn Foster | Dem |
| 28th | Ryan Maher | Rep | Ryan Maher | Rep |
| 29th | Gary Cammack | Rep | Gary Cammack | Rep |
| 30th | Lance Russell | Rep | Julie Frye-Mueller | Rep |
| 31st | Bob Ewing | Rep | Timothy Johns | Rep |
| 32nd | Helene Duhamel | Rep | Helene Duhamel | Rep |
| 33rd | Phil Jensen | Rep | David Johnson | Rep |
| 34th | Jeffrey Partridge | Rep | Michael Diedrich | Rep |
| 35th | Jessica Castleberry | Rep | Jessica Castleberry | Rep |

### Close races

Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%:
* District 26, 5.68%
* District 12, 8.14%
* District 15, 9.50%
Red denotes races won by Republicans. Blue denotes races won by Democrats.

## Election results
### District 1

South Dakota Senate District 1 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Michael H. Rohl | 6,051 | 55.19% |
| | Democratic | Susan Wismer (Incumbent) | 4,913 | 44.81% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,964 | 100% |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

### District 2

South Dakota Senate District 2 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Brock L. Greenfield (Incumbent) | 8,154 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,154 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 3

South Dakota Senate District 3 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Al Novstrup (Incumbent) | 7,496 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,496 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 4

South Dakota Senate District 4 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Wiik (Incumbent) | 9,538 | 82.62% |
| | Libertarian | Daryl Root | 2,007 | 17.38% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 11,545 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 5

South Dakota Senate District 5 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Lee Schoenbeck (Incumbent) | 8,272 | 79.04% |
| | Libertarian | Adam Jewell | 2,193 | 20.96% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,465 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 6

South Dakota Senate District 6 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Herman Otten | 10,194 | 66.74% |
| | Democratic | Nancy Kirstein | 5,081 | 33.26% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 15,275 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 7

South Dakota Senate District 7 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | V.J. Smith (Incumbent) | 6,650 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,650 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 8

South Dakota Senate District 8 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Casey Crabtree (Incumbent) | 7,829 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,829 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 9

South Dakota Senate District 9 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Wayne H. Steinhauer (Incumbent) | 7,654 | 57.96% |
| | Democratic | Suzanne "Suzie" Jones Pranger | 5,552 | 42.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,206 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 10

South Dakota Senate District 10 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Maggie Sutton (Incumbent) | 7,205 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,205 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 11

South Dakota Senate District 11 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jim Stalzer (Incumbent) | 8,244 | 60.47% |
| | Democratic | Tom Cool | 5,389 | 39.53% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,633 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 12

South Dakota Senate District 12 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | R Blake Curd (Incumbent) | 6,599 | 54.07% |
| | Democratic | Jessica Meyers | 5,606 | 45.93% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 12,205 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 13

South Dakota Senate District 13 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jack Kolbeck (Incumbent) | 7,490 | 56.28% |
| | Democratic | Elizabeth "Liz" Larson | 5,819 | 43.72% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,309 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 14

South Dakota Senate District 14 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Larry P. Zikmund | 7,391 | 56.00% |
| | Democratic | Timothy Reed | 5,808 | 44.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,199 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 15

South Dakota Senate District 15 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Reynold F. Nesiba (Incumbent) | 4,127 | 54.75% |
| | Republican | Thor Bardon | 3,411 | 45.25% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,538 | 100% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### District 16

South Dakota Senate District 16 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | David L. Anderson (Incumbent) | 8,383 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,383 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 17

South Dakota Senate District 17 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Arthur Rusch (Incumbent) | 6,285 | 63.87% |
| | Democratic | Ailee Johns | 3,122 | 31.72% |
| | Libertarian | Gregory Baldwin | 434 | 4.41% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,841 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 18

South Dakota Senate District 18 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jean Hunhoff | 6,341 | 59.85% |
| | Democratic | Jordan Foos | 4,255 | 40.15% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,597 | 100% |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

### District 19

South Dakota Senate District 19 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kyle Schoenfish (Incumbent) | 9,766 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,766 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 20

South Dakota Senate District 20 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Joshua Klumb (Incumbent) | 8,516 | 85.09% |
| | Libertarian | Alexander Martin | 1,492 | 14.91% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,008 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 21

South Dakota Senate District 21 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Erin Tobin | 7,629 | 79.21% |
| | Democratic | Dan Kerner Andersson | 2,002 | 20.79% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,631 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 22

South Dakota Senate District 22 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | David Wheeler | 7,397 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,397 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 23

South Dakota Senate District 23 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bryan J. Breitling | 9,519 | 89.56% |
| | Libertarian | CJ Abernathey | 1,110 | 10.44% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,629 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 24

South Dakota Senate District 24 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mary Duvall | 9,254 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,254 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 25

South Dakota Senate District 25 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Marsha Symens | 7,580 | 58.86% |
| | Independent | Rick W Knobe | 4,205 | 32.65% |
| | Independent | Seth William Van't Hof | 1,093 | 8.49% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 12,878 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 26

South Dakota Senate District 26 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Troy Heinert (Incumbent) | 4,416 | 52.84% |
| | Republican | Joel Koskan | 3,941 | 47.16% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,357 | 100% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### District 27

South Dakota Senate District 27 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Red Dawn Foster (Incumbent) | 3,829 | 56.25% |
| | Republican | Judd W Schomp | 2,978 | 43.75% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,807 | 100% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### District 28

South Dakota Senate District 28 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Ryan M. Maher (Incumbent) | 7,506 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,506 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 29

South Dakota Senate District 29 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Gary L. Cammack (Incumbent) | 9,350 | 77.88% |
| | Libertarian | Kent Wilsey | 2,656 | 22.12% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 12,006 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 30

South Dakota Senate District 30 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Julie Frye-Mueller | 10,043 | 71.28% |
| | Libertarian | A. Gideon Oakes | 4,046 | 28.72% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 14,089 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 31

South Dakota Senate District 31 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Timothy R. Johns | 9,911 | 100% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,911 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 32

South Dakota Senate District 32 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Helene Duhamel (Incumbent) | 7,397 | 64.10% |
| | Democratic | Michael Calabrese | 4,143 | 35.90% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 11,540 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 33

South Dakota Senate District 33 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | David Johnson | 11,369 | 68.13% |
| | Democratic | Ryan A. Ryder | 5,317 | 31.87% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 16,686 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 34

South Dakota Senate District 34 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Michael G Diedrich | 8,079 | 64.38% |
| | Democratic | George Nelson | 4,470 | 35.62% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 12,549 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 35

South Dakota Senate District 35 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jessica Castleberry (Incumbent) | 6,012 | 61.60% |
| | Democratic | Brian Gentry | 3,747 | 38.40% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,759 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |