South Dakota election results: AP calls governor race for Noem
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Polls have closed in South Dakota as the state votes in the governor's race, legislative seats as well as ballot initiatives such as recreational marijuana and Medicaid expansion.
Refresh this page throughout the night for updates, race calls and more.
Medicaid expansion in lead; voters rejecting recreational marijuana
As of 11:15 p.m., South Dakota voters appeared to be set on expanding Medicaid, while rejecting recreational marijuana.
With 448 of 687 precincts in, Medicaid expansion had the support of 55 percent of voters.
Initiated Measure 27, which would legalize recreational marijuana, was failing, with 54 percent of voters rejecting the proposal.
As of midnight Tuesday, no legislative races in the Sioux Falls area were finalized.
AP calls governor race for Noem
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defeated a Democratic state lawmaker on Tuesday to win reelection, leaning heavily on her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a first term marked by positioning herself for a possible White House bid in 2024.
The Republican governor eased past state Rep. Jamie Smith after raising more than $15 million via a nationwide fundraising network. Noem has said she would serve a full four-year term if reelected, but she generated speculation about higher political ambitions by becoming a fixture in conservative media and making appearances in key 2024 states. Her fundraising haul was a historic amount of money for a South Dakota gubernatorial candidate.
Noem’s campaign centered largely on her handling of the state’s economy as well as her record of forgoing most government mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 50-year-old Republican vaulted to national prominence within the GOP during her first term after deriding those government mandates.
One of her first priorities for her second term will be delivering on a campaign promise to repeal the state’s tax on groceries. On the campaign trail, Noem cast the tax repeal as a way to deliver quick relief to family budgets squeezed by inflation. But in the Legislature, she will have to convince a Republican-controlled Senate that the state government can go without a tax that annually brings in roughly $100 million.
Republicans claim wins in statewide races
Several Republicans running for statewide office have claimed victory at the Republican watch party Tuesday night in Sioux Falls.
Monae Johnson (Secretary of State), Richard Sattgast (state auditor), Brock Greenfield (commissioner school public lands) and Josh Haeder (state treasurer) all claimed wins in their races.
With 191 of 687 precincts reporting Johnson had 65 percent in the votes compared to challenger Tom Cool who had 356 percent. Greenfield had 68 percent of the vote in the school and public lands race, while Democrat Tim Azure had 32 percent. In the state auditor race, Sattgast had 64 percent of the vote, while Stephanie Marty, a Democrat, had 31 percent.
In the state treasurer race, Haeder had 68 percent of the vote. Democratic challenger Josh Cunningham had 32 percent.
AP: Dusty Johnson secures third term in U.S. House
Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson won reelection Tuesday for his third term representing South Dakota’s only U.S. House district, easily winning a race in which Democrats didn’t field a candidate.
The 46-year-old Republican faced only Libertarian Collin Duprel, who did not report raising or spending any money in the campaign. Democrat Ryan Ryder , a lawyer, withdrew early from the contest in March after coming under scrutiny for tweets he made from a personal account.
The House seat was not always a lock for Johnson. He faced a competitive primary against a right-wing challenger in state lawmaker Taffy Howard that attracted spending from several national political action committees.
Johnson has worked to shore up his conservative credentials in the heavily Republican state while portraying himself as focused on policy over political brawling. During his time in the House, he has worked for bipartisan agreements as part of a group known as the “Problem Solvers Caucus.”
County auditor: It could be hours for results in Minnehaha County
Caught up with county auditor Ben Kyte. Ballot counting started at 7:30 p.m. and he’s estimating counting could take 8 hours as of 8:15 p.m.
The ETA for election results could be around 2-4 a.m., Kyte said. Minnehaha County is typically the last county in the state of South Dakota to report full election results.
Kyte said there’s about 18,000 in absentee ballots, which equals to about an active 15% turnout based on absentee alone. Anecdotally, Kyte said turnout was busy at polls. He’s expecting overall turnout to be in the 60% to 70% range based on past elections.
AP: Thune wins fourth term as senator
Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota won reelection to a fourth term Tuesday and will return to a Senate where he is seen as a potential future majority leader.
The 61-year-old Republican held a large fundraising advantage over Democrat Brian Bengs, an Air Force veteran and university professor. Thune is the second-ranking Senate Republican and is seen as a potential pick to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell once he steps down from leadership.
The most dramatic moment of the campaign for Thune came before it began, when he contemplated retiring rather than running for reelection. He had shown signs of weariness after navigating a Republican Party dominated by former President Donald Trump, who at one point called for a primary challenger to unseat him.
Once he chose to run, Thune easily fended off a pair of primary challengers in June and has ridden out the campaign season in the heavily Republican state by avoiding most engagements with Bengs.
Polls closed in South Dakota; results expected soon
Results are expected soon as polls have closed in South Dakota. For full results in all the statewide races and ballot measures, click here.
Polls close in western South Dakota at 8 p.m. CT.
How many ballots have been cast before Election Day?
Tuesday's morning rush didn't take into account absentee voting. As of Friday morning, 81,142 absentee ballots have been received, meaning nearly 13% of South Dakota registered voters have cast their vote, according to data from the South Dakota Secretary of State's office. The ballots include walk-in requests and mailed ballots received by county auditor offices across the state.
At least 87,000 absentee ballots have been sent between the start of early voting Sept. 23 and Friday, according to the data.
The Argus Leader will have reporters at polling locations throughout the day to capture the turnout of in-person polling, how election officials are handling any possible hiccups and in-the-moment updates from the county auditor about the process behind counting ballots.
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This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota election results, updates and more as races are called
