William John Janklow was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party who holds the record for the longest tenure as Governor of South Dakota:sixteen years in office. Janklow had the third-longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,851 days.
Marion Michael Rounds is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
Stephanie Marie Herseth Sandlin is an American attorney,university administrator,and politician from the Democratic Party. She represented South Dakota's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin was first elected to Congress in a July 2004 special election and won three full terms before losing to Republican Kristi Noem in 2010. She was the youngest female member of the House,and the first woman elected to the House from South Dakota. Before her 2007 marriage to Max Sandlin,she was known as Stephanie Herseth. She is a Democrat and a member of the Herseth family of South Dakota. She and Senator Tim Johnson are the last Democrats to win a statewide and/or federal election in South Dakota.
John Randolph Thune is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota,a seat he has held since 2005. A member of the Republican Party,he has been elected the Senate majority leader and Senate Republican leader,a post he is to assume in January 2025. Thune is in his fourth Senate term and is the Senate minority whip,a post he has held since 2021,and the dean of South Dakota's congressional delegation. From 1997 to 2003 he served three terms as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district.
Harvey Lowell Wollman was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of South Dakota from 1978 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor in the history of South Dakota to succeed to the governorship. To date,he is the last Democrat to serve as South Dakota's governor.
The Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act was a state law passed by the South Dakota State Legislature in early 2006. It emerged as an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade via enacting a ban on abortion in the state of South Dakota. The law was repealed by voter referendum on November 7,2006.
The 2008 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4,2008. Primary elections were held on June 3,2008. Incumbent Senator Tim Johnson won re-election to a third term. As of 2024,this election alongside the simultaneous House race is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota. This is the last time that a Senate candidate and a presidential candidate of different political parties simultaneously won South Dakota.
Timothy Mathern is an American politician and state senator in North Dakota. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of North Dakota in 2008.
Scott Donald Munsterman is a former mayor of Brookings,South Dakota. Munsterman sought the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota in the South Dakota gubernatorial election in 2010. In a Republican primary election on June 8,2010,Munsterman came in second to Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Munsterman received 17.6% or 14,733 of the 83,832 ballots cast,approximately one third of the 50% received by Daugaard.
Ron J. Volesky is an American lawyer,who served 16 years in the South Dakota Senate,first as a member of the Republican Party before switching to the Democratic Party.
Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota. A member of the Republican Party,she was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011. In November 2024,Donald Trump selected Noem to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security in his second term.
The 2014 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 4,2014,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of South Dakota,concurrently with the election of the Governor of South Dakota,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.
Larry Rhoden is an American politician and businessman serving as the 39th lieutenant governor of South Dakota since 2019.
Kevin Killer is a Native American activist and politician. He served as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (2020-2022). He served as a Democratic member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017 and the South Dakota Senate from 2017 to 2019,representing the 27th district. He lives in Pine Ridge,South Dakota.
Phil Jensen,is an American politician from Pennington County,South Dakota who is a current member of the South Dakota House of Representatives and has served as a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate representing District 33 from 2013 to 2021. Jensen served consecutively in the South Dakota Legislature from January 2009 until January 8,2013 in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 33 seat. He supplements his legislative income as a cookware dealer.
Gordon K. Howie is an American politician from the state of South Dakota. As a member of the Republican Party,he served in the South Dakota House of Representatives and the South Dakota Senate. Howie ran for the Republican nomination for Governor of South Dakota in 2010. He also ran for the U.S. Senate as an Independent in the 2014 elections.
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.
Abortion in South Dakota is illegal. Anyone who induces an abortion is guilty of a Class 6 felony. An exception is included to "preserve the life of the pregnant female," given appropriate and reasonable medical judgment.
Jon Hansen serves as a representative for the 25th Legislative District in the South Dakota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party,he formerly served as the Speaker pro tempore of the South Dakota House of Representatives.
