# 1918 United States Senate election in South Dakota

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The 1918 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 5, 1918. Incumbent Republican Senator Thomas Sterling sought re-election in his first popular election. He defeated former Governor Frank M. Byrne in the Republican primary and then faced former State Representative Orville Rinehart, the 1916 Democratic nominee for Governor, in the general election. Sterling defeated Rinehart, along with independent candidate W. T. Rafferty, by a wide margin to win re-election.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Orville V. Rinehart, former State Representative from Pennington County, 1916 Democratic nominee for Governor
* James Coffey, Internal Revenue Collector for North and South Dakota
* John E. Kelley, former U.S. Congressman from South Dakota's at-large congressional district

### Results

Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Orville V. Rinehart | 3,848 | 40.92% |
| | Democratic | James Coffey | 2,949 | 31.36% |
| | Democratic | John E. Kelley | 2,606 | 27.71% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,403 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Thomas Sterling, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Frank M. Byrne, former Governor of South Dakota

### Results

Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Thomas Sterling (inc.) | 21,516 | 55.48% |
| | Republican | Frank M. Byrne | 17,264 | 44.52% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 38,780 | 100.00% |

## Socialist Primary
### Candidates

* John C. Knapp

### Results

Socialist primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Socialist | John C. Knapp | 252 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 252 | 100.00% |
After winning the primary, Knapp withdrew as a candidate, citing his disagreement with the Socialist Party's anti-war policies.

## General election
### Results

1918 United States Senate election in South Dakota :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Thomas Sterling (inc.) | 51,198 | 55.07% |
| | Democratic | Orville V. Rinehart | 36,210 | 38.95% |
| | Independent | W. T. Rafferty | 5,560 | 5.98% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,988 | 16.12% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 92,968 | 100.00% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |