Gladys Shields Pyle was an American educator and national record setting female politician during the first score of years post-ratification of Women's Suffrage Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, who set numerous national and state partisan electoral records before the age of 50, including at least a dozen national records related to her 1938 U. S. Senate election. Her most significant national electoral records are:
- First female nationally to enter the U S Senate through election (1938) and first to do so in her own right at the age of 48. She ran 5.6% ahead of the second highest vote getter for any statewide office in her state in that election..
- First female nationally to run for both governor and U.S. Senate and first to do so in her own right.
- First female nationally to be elected to both a state constitutional legislative office (1922) and a state constitutional executive office (1926) in any state and first to do so in her own right. Only female nationally to be both the first elected to a state constitutional legislative office and the first to be elected to a state constitutional executive office in any state.
- First female nationally to receive more votes cast than had been received by any other statewide candidate in the history of the state in any state (1928) and only female to accomplish that feat in the first score of years after ratification of the Suffrage Amendment.
- First female nationally to receive both the highest percentage of the vote received of all statewide candidates and most total raw votes received of all statewide candidates in a general election in any state (1928). She was the only female to achieve this record during the first score of years after ratification of the Suffrage Amendment and she did so twice.
Thomas Matthew Berry was the 14th Governor of South Dakota. Berry, a Democrat from Belvidere, South Dakota, served from 1933 to 1937. He is noted for defeating two incumbent Democratic United States senators in the state Democratic primary and then losing the seat to the Republicans in the general election.
John Chandler "Chan" Gurney was an American businessman and politician from South Dakota. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a U.S. Senator from 1939 to 1951.
Herbert Emery Hitchcock was a United States senator from South Dakota.
The 1932 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Republican Senator Peter Norbeck ran for re-election to a third term. After easily turning back a challenge from former State Senator Harry F. Brownell in the Republican primary, Norbeck faced attorney Ulysses Simpson Grant Cherry, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. Owing in part to Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory in South Dakota, the race was much closer than it was in 1926, but Norbeck still defeated Cherry by a decisive margin to win his third, and final, term. Norbeck died in office on December 20, 1936, triggering a special election in 1938.
The 1942 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 3, 1942. Incumbent Democratic Senator William J. Bulow ran for re-election to a third term. During the primary, Bulow was attacked for being insufficiently supportive of President Franklin Roosevelt's foreign policy and war preparedness. Former Governor Tom Berry, Bulow's chief opponent, drew a contrast between Bulow's isolationism and his support for Roosevelt's policies. In the end, Berry defeated Bulow in a landslide, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Harlan J. Bushfield, the incumbent Republican Governor of South Dakota. As Republicans gained ground nationwide, Bushfield defeated Berry in a landslide to pick up the seat for the Republican Party. Bushfield did not serve his full term, however; shortly before the 1948 U.S. Senate election, he died.
The 1956 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Republican Senator Francis H. Case ran for re-election to a second term. In the general election, Case was opposed by former State Representative Kenneth Holum, who was the 1954 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. Owing in part to anger among the state's farmers, the race between Case and Holum was quite close, with Holum leading Case on election night and only falling behind the next day. Case ended up narrowly winning re-election, defeating Holum by just 4,620 votes.
The 1950 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 7, 1950. Incumbent Republican senator Chan Gurney ran for re-election to a third term. He was challenged in the Republican primary by Congressman Francis H. Case, who had represented the 2nd District since 1939. In the general election, Case faced John A. Engel, an attorney and the 1948 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. As the Republican Party was making significant gains nationwide, Case defeated Engel in a landslide.
The 1914 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 3, 1914. Incumbent Senator Coe I. Crawford, a Republican, sought re-election in his first popular election. He was defeated in the Republican primary by Congressman Charles H. Burke, the House Minority Whip. In the general election, he was narrowly defeated by Edwin S. Johnson, the 1912 Democratic nominee for Governor, who won a narrow plurality. Edwin Stockton Johnson became the first Democrat ever to have been elected to the United States Senate from South Dakota and the first non-Republican to have been elected to the United States Senate from South Dakota since James Henderson Kyle in 1897.
The 1930 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 4, 1930. Incumbent Republican Senator William H. McMaster ran for re-election to a second term. After beating back a challenge in the Republican primary from former State Senator George J. Danforth, McMaster faced Democratic nominee William J. Bulow, the incumbent Governor, in the general election. As the Democratic Party performed well nationwide, Bulow narrowly defeated McMaster.
The 1932 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Republican Senator Chan Gurney ran for re-election to a second term. He faced a strong challenge in the Republican primary from Lieutenant Governor A. C. Miller, who claimed that Gurney was too friendly to New Deal policies, but was defeated by Gurney by a wide margin. In the general election, Gurney faced former State Senator George M. Bradshaw, whom he defeated in a landslide as Thomas E. Dewey was decisively winning the state over President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the presidential election.
The 1954 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 2, 1954. Incumbent Republican Senator Karl E. Mundt ran for re-election to his second term. He was opposed by former State Representative Kenneth Holum, the Democratic nominee. Mundt defeated Holum in a landslide to win re-election.
The 1962 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Republican Senator Francis H. Case ran for re-election to a third term. He won the Republican primary against Attorney General A. C. Miller, but shortly after the primary, died. The Republican State Central Committee named Lieutenant Governor Joseph H. Bottum as Case's replacement on the ballot, and Governor Archie Gubbrud appointed Bottum to fill the vacancy caused by Case's death. In the general election, Bottum was opposed by Democratic nominee George McGovern, the Director of Food for Peace and the former U.S. Congressman from South Dakota's 1st congressional district. The contest between Bottum and McGovern was quite close, with McGovern narrowly defeating him for election by just 597 votes, making him the first Democrat to win a Senate election in South Dakota since William J. Bulow's win in 1936.
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.
The 1968 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic Senator George McGovern ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by former Governor Archie M. Gubbrud, who was persuaded to enter the race by the South Dakota Republican establishment. McGovern defeated Gubbrud by a wide margin, even as Richard Nixon was defeating Hubert Humphrey in the state's presidential election in a landslide.
The 1938 United States Senate elections in South Dakota took place on November 8, 1938. Incumbent Republican Senator Peter Norbeck died in office on December 20, 1936. Herbert E. Hitchcock was appointed by Governor Tom Berry as Norbeck's replacement. Two elections for the same Senate seat were held on the same day; one as a special election to fill the remainder of Norbeck's six-year term, and another to select a Senator to serve the next six-year term.
The 1926 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926. Incumbent Republican Governor Carl Gunderson ran for re-election to a second term. The election was largely a rematch of the 1924 election, with Gunderson's chief opponent from two years prior, Democrat William J. Bulow, challenging him once again. Two other candidates—Farmer–Labor nominee Tom Ayres and Pierre Mayor John E. Hipple, an independent—also ran. Though the left-leaning vote was split, Bulow was still able to win a decisive victory over Gunderson, whose support from two years earlier had completely collapsed.
The 1928 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Democratic Governor William J. Bulow ran for re-election to a second term. In the general election, he faced Attorney General Buell F. Jones, the Republican nominee. Despite Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover overwhelmingly defeating Democratic nominee Al Smith overwhelmingly in South Dakota, Bulow defeated Jones by a decisive margin to retain the governorship. In so doing, he became the first Democratic candidate for Governor to receive a majority of the vote in the state's history.
The 1930 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1930. Incumbent Democratic Governor William J. Bulow declined to run for re-election to a third term, instead opting to successfully run for the U.S. Senate. The Republican nomination was hard-fought and the primary was crowded; because no candidate received 35% of the vote, state law required that the nomination be decided at a state party convention. There, former State Senator Warren Green, the last-place finisher in the primary, defeated Secretary of State Gladys Pyle, the plurality winner. In the general election, Green faced D. A. McCullough, the state's Rural Credits Commissioner and the Democratic nominee. Despite Bulow's success in the preceding two elections, Green defeated McCullough by a decisive margin—even as Bulow himself was elected to the U.S. Senate.
The 1936 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1936. Incumbent Democratic Governor Tom Berry ran for re-election to a third term, the first Governor of South Dakota to do so. Berry was challenged by Republican Leslie Jensen, the former Collector of Internal Revenue for the state of South Dakota. Both Berry and Jensen won their primaries uncontested and advanced to the general election. Some drama surrounded the potential candidacy of Democratic State Auditor George O'Neill as an independent candidate for Governor or, in the alternative, his cross-party endorsement of Jensen; after initially announcing his campaign and hedging, O'Neill dropped out of the race in September and endorsed the Democratic ticket in the state, including Berry.
