Analysis: Democrats wager South Dakotans are over 2020 election claims

Statewide and Minnehaha County races test whether election integrity still carries with South Dakota voters

Top row: Democratic Party nominee for Secretary of State Terrence Davis (left) is facing off against Rep. Heather Baxter (right) in the contest after the Black Hills lawmaker earned the GOP nomination for the office in June. Bottom row: Democrat Curt Deedrich (left) is challenging Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson (right) in the November election. A Republican, Anderson won the office in 2022.

For nearly six years, South Dakota Republicans have successfully turned election administration into a political issue.

This fall, Democrats are betting voters are ready to move on.

In races for secretary of state and Minnehaha County auditor, Democratic candidates Terrence Davis and Curt Deedrich are offering a markedly different vision than their Republican opponents. Rather than arguing elections require sweeping changes to restore public trust, they’re campaigning on the premise that the system largely works — and that election offices should return their focus to administering elections instead of relitigating 2020.

Whether that message resonates with South Dakota voters could reveal whether election integrity remains at the electorate’s forefront or if the concerns that emerged after President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss to President Joe Biden have lost political traction.

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