Kyte out as Minnehaha County auditor; possible recount in one Lincoln County race

Nicole Ki, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·2 min read

Republicans in Minnehaha County ousted auditor Ben Kyte in favor of his opponent Leah Anderson in Tuesday night's primary election.

Anderson will now face Democrat Brian Wirth in November's general election.

In Lincoln County, incumbent Sheri Lund soundly defeated challenger Jessica Pollema 58% to 42%, and all three incumbent county commission candidates won their races as well.

"I feel good about it," said Lund. "I think everyone knows the Lund name and I've proven myself with my work at the auditor's office since 2014."

Here's a roundup of the results from those races, though election results will not be official until results are canvassed at a later date.

Minnehaha County:

As of Wednesday morning, there were still two precincts in Minnehaha County not reporting on the South Dakota Secretary of State's website, which leaves these races at only 97% reported.

But it's clear Leah Anderson defeated incumbent Ben Kyte to represent the Republicans in November's county auditor race.

  • Ben Kyte, a Republican, received 6,575 votes:

  • Leah Anderson, a Republican, earned 7,515 votes.

Two Republican candidates eyed the register of deeds position following Julie Risty's retirement:

  • Amanda Halsey won with 6,532 votes.

  • Chad E Zink, a Republican, earned 5,533 votes.

Lincoln County:

Incumbent Sheri Lund defeated challenger Jessica Pollema by a margin of 58% to 42% for county auditor.

  • Sheri Lund brought in 3,533 votes.

  • Jessica Pollema earned 2,608 votes.

Three Lincoln County Commission incumbents held on to their party's nominations heading into November's election, though the District 3 race between Tiffani Landeen and Alex Hilton is marked as a possible recount with only 17 votes separating them.

Here's how those races ended:

District 1, Republican primary:

  • Joel Arends took home 735 votes.

  • Wendi Hogan earned 480.

District 3, Republican primary (Possible Recount):

  • Tiffani Landeen received 593.

  • Alex Hixon brought in 576.

District 5, Republican primary:

  • Jim Schmidt earned 994 votes.

  • Mike Mathis received 668 votes.

"I feel good. We took a positive campaign to the folks," Schmidt said. "We were able to get to the folks and listen to their concerns."

Email human rights reporter Nicole Ki at nki@argusleader.com or follow on Twitter at @_nicoleki.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Lincoln and Minnehaha primary election results roundup in 2022