A Republican Party primary took place on June 7, 2022, in South Dakota to determine which candidate would earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial election on November 8, 2022.

Incumbent Kristi L. Noem advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of South Dakota.

This page focuses on South Dakota's Republican Party gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on South Dakota's Democratic gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary for Governor of South Dakota

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kristi L. Noem	76.4	91,661
	Steven Haugaard	23.6	28,315

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 119,976
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Election competitiveness

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from three outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[1]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Race ratings: South Dakota gubernatorial election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

News and conflicts in this primary

This race was featured in The Heart of the Primaries, a newsletter capturing stories related to conflicts within each major party. Click here to read more about conflict in this and other 2022 Republican gubernatorial primaries. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in South Dakota in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Dakota, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source	Notes
South Dakota	Governor	Democratic	1,615	N/A	3/29/2022	Source
South Dakota	Governor	Republican	1,730	N/A	3/29/2022	Source
South Dakota	Governor	Libertarian	50	N/A	3/29/2022	Source
South Dakota	Governor	Unaffiliated	3,393	N/A	4/26/2022	Source

State profile

Redistricting

New state supreme court district maps were signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) on June 4, 2021. The Illinois Supreme Court lifted a pause order on this map on Jan. 1, 2022, resulting in its full implementation. This was the first time the state updated its judicial districts map since they were first enacted in 1964.^[5]

An image of the enacted state Supreme Court district map is below.

Illinois State Supreme Court (effective date January 1, 2022)

Demographic data for South Dakota
	South Dakota	U.S.
Total population:	857,919	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	75,811	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	85%	73.6%
Black/African American:	1.6%	12.6%
Asian:	1.2%	5.1%
Native American:	8.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.6%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$50,957	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Dakota

South Dakota voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Dakota, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.^[6]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Dakota had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More South Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	← 2018
Governor of South Dakota
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 29, 2022
	Primary: June 7, 2022; Primary runoff: August 16, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Kristi Noem (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in South Dakota
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
South Dakota; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Auditor; Public Lands Commissioner; Public Utilities Commission

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Dakota and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for South Dakota, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
South Dakota's At-Large	Dusty Johnson	Republican	R+16

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, South Dakota^[7]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
South Dakota's At-Large	35.6%	61.8%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 91.9% of South Dakotans lived in one of the state's 56 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 5.1% lived in one of five Solid Democratic counties. Overall, South Dakota was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in South Dakota following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

South Dakota county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	56	91.9%
Solid Democratic	5	5.1%
Trending Republican	4	2.7%
Battleground Democratic	1	0.3%
Total voted Democratic	6	5.4%
Total voted Republican	60	94.6%

Historical voting trends

South Dakota presidential election results (1900-2020)

3 Democratic wins
27 Republican wins
1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	P^[8]	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from South Dakota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in South Dakota.

U.S. Senate election results in South Dakota
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	65.7%	34.3%
2016	71.8%	28.2%
2014	50.4%	29.5%
2010	100%	Uncontested
2008	62.5%	37.5%
Average	62.6	32.4

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of South Dakota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in South Dakota.

Gubernatorial election results in South Dakota
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	51.0%	47.6%
2014	70.5%	25.4%
2010	61.5%	38.5%
2006	61.7%	36.1%
2002	56.8%	41.9%
Average	60.3	37.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of South Dakota's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from South Dakota, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	1	3
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	1	3

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in South Dakota's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in South Dakota, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kristi L. Noem
Lieutenant Governor	Larry Rhoden
Secretary of State	Steve Barnett
Attorney General	Mark Vargo

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the South Dakota State Legislature as of November 2022.

South Dakota State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	3
	Republican Party	32
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

South Dakota House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	8
	Republican Party	62
	Vacancies	0
Total		70

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, South Dakota was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-nine years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in South Dakota and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for South Dakota
	South Dakota	United States
Population	814,180	308,745,538
Land area (sq mi)	75,809	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	84.3%	72.5%
Black/African American	2%	12.7%
Asian	1.5%	5.5%
Native American	8.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more	2.6%	3.3%
Hispanic/Latino	3.8%	18%
Education
High school graduation rate	91.7%	88%
College graduation rate	28.8%	32.1%
Income
Median household income	$58,275	$62,843
Persons below poverty level	13.1%	13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
↑ Daily Herald, "Illinois Supreme Court lifts hold on judicial redistricting," Dec. 8, 2021
↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
↑ Progressive Party

[1] Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.

[2] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018

[3] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018

[4] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018

[5] Daily Herald, "Illinois Supreme Court lifts hold on judicial redistricting," Dec. 8, 2021

[6] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

[7] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[8] Progressive Party

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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South Dakota	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

South Dakota State Executive Offices South Dakota State Legislature South Dakota Courts	2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 South Dakota elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016	Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

	v • e State of South Dakota Pierre (capital)
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South Dakota gubernatorial election, 2022 (June 7 Republican primary)