South Dakota Senate

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The South Dakota Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 35 members, one representing each legislative district.

The President of the Senate is the Lt. Governor, currently Republican Dennis Daugaard. The president only votes in the case of a tie. The Senate elects one member to serve as President pro tempore, currently Senator Bob Gray, a Republican from Pierre. This officer presides in the absence of the president, appoints committees, and assigns legislation to committee.

At present, the Senate has 20 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Each party selects a floor leader. The current majority leader is David Knudson, a Republican from Sioux Falls; the minority leader is Scott Heidepriem, a Democrat who is also from Sioux Falls. In addition, each party also selects a number of whips, who assist the floor leader in leading their respective caucuses.

Affiliation Members
  Republican Party 20
  Democratic Party 15
 Total
35
 Majority
5

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