South Dakota Searchlight

Sioux Falls residents vote in South Dakota's general election on Nov. 3, 2026. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)See below for results from South Dakota statewide races, statewide ballot questions and legislative races. For news coverage and commentary about South Dakota’s election, see Searchlight’s Election 2026 page. For local election results, such as county, city and school races and questions, see the South Dakota Secretary of State’s results page. For ele

The federal government's website for Medicaid, a health insurance program for people with low incomes. (Photo by South Dakota Searchlight)South Dakota voters rejected a ballot question Tuesday that could have triggered a repeal of the state’s Medicaid expansion mandate. When The Associated Press called the race at 1:22 a.m. Wednesday, 56% of the votes were against Amendment I and 44% were in favor. Over 80% of votes statewide had been counted. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`me

South Dakota Treasurer Josh Haeder appears in a video encouraging people to reclaim their unclaimed property from his office. (South Dakota Searchlight photo)South Dakota voters approved a ballot question Tuesday that will allow the state Investment Council to manage the money in an unclaimed property trust fund. With 87% of the votes counted statewide by about 1:15 a.m. Central on Wednesday, 61% of the votes were in favor of Amendment K, and 39% were against it. (function(){function e(){window.

Rep. Heather Baxter, R-Rapid City, speaks in the state House of Representatives on Feb. 10, 2026. Baxter is this year's nominee for South Dakota secretary of state and built a large lead in partial returns. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)Republicans won all the races Tuesday for South Dakota’s lesser-known statewide offices: secretary of state, attorney general, public utilities commissioner, auditor, treasurer, and commissioner of school and public lands. The Associated Press

The U.S. Capitol on the evening of Sept. 30, 2025, just hours before a federal government shutdown. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)Voters across the country administered a sharp reprimand to President Donald Trump and Republicans who hold majorities in Congress, with Democrats gaining comfortable majorities in the Senate and the House. Several U.S. Senate and House races remained uncalled by The Associated Press as Election Day ended on the East Coast. But Democrats notched 53 Senate se

Pierre residents fill out ballots at a polling place in South Dakota's capital city on Nov. 3, 2026. (Photo by Meghan O'Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)South Dakota voters approved a state constitutional amendment Tuesday specifying that non-U.S. citizens are disqualified from voting. The Associated Press called the race at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday with 62% of the votes in favor of Amendment J and 38% against it. About 72% of statewide votes had been counted. (function(){function e(){window.addEventL

Campaign material from L-No, a South Dakota ballot question committee, urges a vote against a measure that would require 60% voter approval to change the state constitution. (Photo by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)South Dakotans rejected a ballot question Tuesday that would have raised the threshold for voter approval of state constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%. When The Associated Press called the race at 11:24 p.m. Central time, 58% of the votes were against Amendment

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, answers questions during a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce event on Aug. 28, 2025, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)A well-funded challenge by an independent fell short Tuesday as Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota won reelection. Rounds led Brian Bengs 62% to 38% when The Associated Press called the race at about 11 p.m. Central time with 58% of statewide votes counted. (function(){functi

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden delivers his annual budget address to lawmakers at the Capitol in Pierre on Dec. 2, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)After a whirlwind three elections in five months, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has won his own four-year term. The Republican was leading Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers 64% to 36% on Tuesday when The Associated Press called the race at about 10:45 p.m. Central time with 52% of the votes counted statewide. (function(){functi

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley talks to reporters on June 23, 2026, outside the federal courthouse in Rapid City. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)South Dakota’s Republican attorney general was elected to the state’s only U.S. House seat on Tuesday. Marty Jackley led his Democratic opponent, Nikki Gronli, 65% to 35% when The Associated Press called the race at 10:03 p.m. Central time with 43% of the votes counted statewide. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListe

Michigan's 2026 race for U.S. Senate was one of the most watched in the nation. In this photo, voters wait in line outside the Department of Elections in Detroit on Nov. 3, 2026. (Photo by Janelle D. James/Michigan Advance)WASHINGTON — In a stunning upset, Democrats ousted Republicans and flipped control of the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, effectively establishing a barricade for President Donald Trump’s agenda for the last two years of his term. Democrats will now have the power to block many of

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., greets volunteers during a midterm election night watch party with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, 2026. Democrats anticipate flipping Republican control of the U.S. House. (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)WASHINGTON — Democrats will regain control of the U.S. House early next year, after voters throughout the country rejected the policies that Republicans and President Donald Trump implemented during the las

Poll workers wait for voters at a polling place in a garage on Willett Road in Brentwood, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Photo by John Beale/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)America voted. After the Trump administration pressured election officials, after concerns that armed federal agents would deploy to the polls, after fears U.S. Department of Justice election monitors would intimidate voters — ballots were cast by the millions Tuesday, mostly without incident. Across the United States, voters

Campaign signs advertise various candidates during the general election on Nov. 3, 2026, at T&C's Other Place convenience store in Dell Rapids, South Dakota. (Photo by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)Democrats were expected to make gains nationally in Tuesday’s election, but interviews with voters reflected the challenges still facing Democrats in South Dakota, where the party was trying to prevent a losing streak in statewide races from extending to 18 years. Allison and Cade Wood, voter

Early voting at Kearny Town Hall in Kearny, New Jersey, on Oct. 24, 2026. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)WASHINGTON — Tens of millions of Americans have already cast a ballot in the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and shape President Donald Trump’s remaining policy agenda.  As of Monday, more than 57 million Americans had cast a vote, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, which tracks early voting. This year’s el

President Donald Trump, in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, stands next to enlarged photos showing the pool’s renovations, on Nov. 2, 2026. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)WASHINGTON — One day before his party is forecast to lose control of the U.S. House, and possibly the Senate, President Donald Trump gathered guests and press at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to tout the “magnificent” renovation of the monument — a monthslong project plagued by algae, reclosure and false accusatio

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, mere hours before Election Day in the midterms that will determine control of Congress, denied the Trump administration’s final attempt to force California to set aside the ballots of 20,000 people it suspects are noncitizens. The decision marked a significant blow to President Donald Trump’s bid to control voting in the country’s most populous state and capped a whirlwind thre

President Donald Trump rallied with Iowa Republicans at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque on Nov. 1, 2026, two days before Election Day. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)American democracy faces one of its biggest stress tests of the modern era, as President Donald Trump’s sprawling campaign for power over elections encounters a firewall of judges, state election workers and voting rights leaders heading into Election Day. A cascade of courtroom losses over the weekend dealt a major b

Signs identify a polling place in Wanblee, part of Jackson County, ahead of South Dakota's 2026 general election. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)Tuesday is Election Day in South Dakota, with races for state and legislative offices, four statewide ballot questions, and a variety of local races and questions. Nationally, control of both chambers of Congress is up for grabs, with implications for South Dakota Republican John Thune’s status as U.S. Senate majority leader. Voti

One of the ways Lakota Tech High School is finding housing for teachers is using state grant funding to help build homes like these for teachers on the Pine Ridge Reservation. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)On any given day in Sisseton, Milbank or Winner, you will pass an employer with a hiring sign in the window, or you will see an advertisement on social media or in the local newspaper. Some have been advertising for six months. Some for a year. The applicants are out there, and they&#821