South Dakota, Attorney General

South Dakota held an election for attorney general on November 6, 2018.

In South Dakota, political parties nominate state executive candidates at their conventions instead of holding a primary. The only office this does not apply to is governor. The Democratic Party state convention was held from June 15 to June 16. The Republican Party state convention was held from June 20 to June 23. The Libertarian Party held its state convention on April 14.

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the 2018 election, the attorney general of South Dakota was Marty J. Jackley (R), who was first appointed to the position by former Gov. Mike Rounds (R) on August 14, 2009, and was elected to full terms in 2010 and 2014. Jackley was prevented by term limits from seeking a third full term in 2018.
In 2018, South Dakota was under a Republican trifecta. It had held this status since Republicans gained a majority in the South Dakota State Senate in 1995. South Dakota was also a Republican triplex.
South Dakota was won by the Republican candidate in each of the presidential elections between 2000 and 2016. The widest margin of victory was Donald Trump's 30 percent margin in 2016, while the narrowest was John McCain's eight percent margin in 2008.

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in South Dakota from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in South Dakota every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), South Dakota 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	61.5%	Hillary Clinton	31.7%	29.8%
2012	Mitt Romney	57.9%	Barack Obama	39.9%	18.0%
2008	John McCain	53.1%	Barack Obama	44.8%	8.3%
2004	George W. Bush	59.9%	John Kerry	38.4%	21.5%
2000	George W. Bush	60.3%	Al Gore	37.6%	22.7%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in South Dakota from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), South Dakota 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	John Thune	71.8%	Jay Williams	28.2%	43.6%
2014	Mike Rounds	50.4%	Rick Weiland	29.5%	20.9%
2010	John Thune	100.0%	No candidate		100.0%
2008	Tim Johnson	62.5%	Joel Dykstra	37.5%	25.0%
2004	John Thune	50.6%	Tom Daschle	49.4%	1.2%
2002	Tim Johnson	49.6%	John Thune	49.5%	0.1%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in South Dakota.

Election results (Governor), South Dakota 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Dennis Daugaard	70.5%	Susan Wismer	25.4%	45.1%
2010	Dennis Daugaard	61.5%	Scott Heidepreim	38.5%	23.0%
2006	Mike Rounds	61.7%	Jack Billion	36.1%	25.6%
2002	Mike Rounds	56.8%	Jim Abbott	41.9%	14.9%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent South Dakota in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, South Dakota 2000-2016

Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	1	100.0%	0.0%	R+1
2014	1	100.0%	0.0%	R+1
2012	1	100.0%	0.0%	R+1
2010	1	100.0%	0.0%	R+1
2008	1	100.0%	0.0%	D+1
2006	1	100.0%	0.0%	D+1
2004	1	100.0%	0.0%	D+1
2002	1	100.0%	0.0%	R+1
2000	1	100.0%	0.0%	R+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2019
No Democratic trifectas • 26 years of Republican trifectas

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

Demographic data for South Dakota

	South Dakota	U.S.
Total population:	857,919	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	75,811	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	49.8%	50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:	85%	73.6%
Black/African American:	1.6%	12.6%
Asian:	1.2%	5.1%
Native American:	8.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.6%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$50,957	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota.

As of July 2016, South Dakota's three largest cities were Sioux Falls (pop. est. 177,000), Rapid City (pop. est. 74,000), and Aberdeen (pop. est. 28,000).