Polls open in South Dakota for Tuesday's primary election
Wave of legislative, county races to be decided in Rushmore state
South Dakota voters head to the polls today for the 2024 primary election. Though who will be at the top of the ticket for the presidential election is all but decided for both Republicans and Democrats, much is at stake for the tens of thousands of GOP voters expected to turnout to decide dozens of partisan races for state Legislature and county offices.
Statewide, hundreds are seeking a seat in the state Capitol, a majority of whom first must earn their party’s nomination. Victory advances candidates to the general ballot in November, however, many Republican primary candidates coming out of Tuesday’s election won’t face another hurdle this year. That’s because in several legislative districts, the Democratic Party did not field a candidate and there are no third party challengers to contest Republicans’ March toward the state House and Senate.
The GOP currently holds a supermajority in both the state House and Senate, controlling 94 of the 105 available seats across both chambers. Longtime control of state offices, along with a bevy of controversial state and national issues, has led to two different factions within the Republican party, a moderate faction and a hard right one. Tuesday’s election will ultimately determine which factions control each chamber over the next two legislative sessions.
To find your polling location, click here. Polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM local time. Sample ballots indicating what you will be voting on can be found at polling locations.
To check out The Dakota Scout’s all of our previous election coverage, click here.
Wave of new faces could bring legislative overhaul to Pierre
The South Dakota Capitol is going to have a lot of new faces next year. At least a dozen state lawmakers eligible to run for office this year have opted not to, while another dozen former lawmakers are looking to make a return to Pierre. More than 200 South Dakotans have filed to run for 105 different legislative seats in the June 4 primary. Both the House and Senate chambers are set to see high turnover from their current membership.
Kippley, Heisey report highest fundraising totals in Minnehaha County race
A Sioux Falls businessman and former Knife River Corp. executive is pacing the field in campaign fundraising as next week’s GOP primary election for Minnehaha County Commission nears. Of the four Republican candidates hoping to earn one of two seats up for grabs in this year's election for county commission, campaign finance disclosures filed last week with the auditor’s office show Dan Kippley’s received financial contributions totaling nearly $30,000.
We need open primaries!!