It wasn’t the high-stakes showdown that the congressional speaker of the House contest turned into, not even close.

But the South Dakota House of Representatives had a rare speaker vote Tuesday in which Republicans voted against the nomination of Rep. Hugh Bartels to be speaker. Bartels, a Watertown Republican, won comfortably, but the opposition to his nomination was rare.

In all, 14 Republicans of the 63-member caucus voted against Bartels. The vote was a sign that the GOP caucus will be divided in the 98th Legislative Session.

Legislative session is here: A quick look at some of bills already in the hopper