Aaron Aylward

Aaron Aylward
Aylward at the 2024 Hazlitt Summit hosted by Young Americans for Liberty Foundation
Member of the South DakotaHouseofRepresentatives from the 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2021 Servingwith Herman Otten
Personal details
Party	Republican (since 2020) Libertarian (2018) Republican (2012-2016)
Education	Dakota State University (BA) University of South Dakota (MA)

Aaron Aylward is an American politician serving as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 6th district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 12, 2021.

Education

Aylaward earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in exercise science from Dakota State University and a Master of Arts in kinesiology from the University of South Dakota. ^[1] While at Dakota State University, he was a member of the Dakota State Trojans football team. ^[2] Following the 2008 season he was named to the DAC All-Conference team. ^[3]

Career

In 2012 and 2013, Aylward worked as a personal trainer. From 2013 to 2019, Aylward worked as a search consultant for Growing People and Companies (GPAC). In 2019, he became a sales representative for Cintas, a business services firm. ^[4] In 2018, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the South Dakota House as a Libertarian. ^{[5] [6]}

Electoral history

Aaron Aylward at the 2024 Hazlitt Summit in Nashville, Tennessee

South Dakota House of Representatives District 26 General Election, 2024 ^[5]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Herman Otten	7,216	41.7
Republican	Aaron Aylward	6,534	37.8
Democrat	Garret Campbell	3,546	20.5

South Dakota House of Representatives District 6 Primary Election, 2024 ^[5]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Aaron Aylward	687	40.0
Republican	Herman Otten	566	33.0
Republican	Wendi Hogan	463	27.0

South Dakota House of Representatives District 6 General Election, 2022 ^[5]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ernie Otten Jr.	5,559	59.9
Republican	Aaron Aylward	3,715	40.1

South Dakota House of Representatives District 6 General Election, 2020 ^[5]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ernie Otten Jr.	9,504	45.1
Republican	Aaron Aylward	6,504	30.8
Democrat	Cody Ingle	5,084	24.1

South Dakota House of Representatives District 6 Primary Election, 2020 ^[5]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ernie Otten Jr.	1,551	37.9
Republican	Aaron Aylward	1,098	26.8
Republican	Nathan Block	1,064	26.0
Republican	Thomas Werner	384	9.4

South Dakota House of Representatives District 6 General Election, 2018 ^[5]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Herman Otten	5,911	31.0
Republican	Isaac Latterell	5,490	28.8
Democrat	Nancy Kirstein	3,399	17.8
Democrat	Kyle Boese	3,357	17.6
Libertarian	Aaron Aylward	930	4.9

Football career statistics

Legend
Bold	Career high

College

Year	Team	GP	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	Int	FF	FR
2006	Dakota State	11	60	18	42	1.0	1	1	1
2007	Dakota State	9	46	17	29	1.0	0	0	0
2008	Dakota State	9	48	31	17	4.5	0	0	0

^{[7] [8] [9]}

References

1. "Aaron Aylward – Biography from LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
2. "Aaron Aylward". dsuathletics.com. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
3. "Men All-Conference". dsuathletics.com. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
4. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
5. "Aaron Aylward". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
6. "Representative Aaron Aylward - 2021". sdlegislature.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
7. "2006 Football Cumulative Statistics". dsuathletics.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
8. "2007 Football Cumulative Statistics". dsuathletics.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
9. "2008 Football Cumulative Statistics". dsuathletics.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.