# 2016 United States Senate election in South Dakota

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The 2016 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held June 7.
Incumbent Republican Senator John Thune was considered a potential 2016 presidential candidate, but decided instead to run for a third term in office.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* John Thune, incumbent U.S. Senator

#### Declined

* Gordon Howie, former state senator, candidate for governor in 2010 and Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
* Stace Nelson, former state representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Jay Williams, Chair of the Yankton County Democratic Party, former Yankton School Board member and candidate for the State House in 2010 and 2014

#### Declined

* Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senator
* Cory Heidelberger, teacher and political activist (running for State Senate)
* Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, former U.S. Representative
* Mike Huether, Mayor of Sioux Falls
* Bernie Hunhoff, state senator and candidate for governor in 1998
* Sam Hurst, filmmaker and television news producer
* Brendan Johnson, former United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota
* Frank Kloucek, former state senator
* Phil Schreck, KSFY-TV senior meteorologist
* Billie Sutton, Minority Leader of the South Dakota Senate
* Rick Weiland, businessman, nominee for SD-AL in 1996 and candidate in 2002 and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2014

## Constitution Party

The Constitution Party nominated Kurt Evans for Senate depending on the resolution of a ballot-access legal action, however, the party's request to place a candidate on the ballot was not granted.

## General election
### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 13, 2016
* Complete video of debate, October 23, 2016

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | John Thune (R) | Jay Williams (D) | Undecided |
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 459 | ± 4.6% | 65% | 31% | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31–November 6, 2016 | 435 | ± 4.6% | 64% | 31% | 5% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28–November 3, 2016 | 393 | ± 4.6% | 66% | 29% | 5% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27–November 2, 2016 | 345 | ± 4.6% | 67% | 30% | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26–November 1, 2016 | 281 | ± 4.6% | 65% | 32% | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 298 | ± 4.6% | 67% | 31% | 2% |
| Nielson Brothers Polling | October 24–26, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 54% | 35% | 11% |
| Remington Research Group | October 19–21, 2016 | 1,115 | ± 3.0% | 57% | 36% | 7% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 18–20, 2016 | 400 | ± 5.0% | 65% | 27% | 8% |

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe R | November 2, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe R | November 3, 2016 |
| Daily Kos | Safe R | November 8, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |

### Results

United States Senate election in South Dakota, 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | John Thune (incumbent) | 265,516 | 71.83% | −28.17% |
| | Democratic | Jay Williams | 104,140 | 28.17% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 369,656 | 100.0% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Oglala Lakota (largest city: Pine Ridge)
* Todd (largest city: Mission)
* Buffalo (largest city: Fort Thompson)