South Dakota's at-large congressional district

South Dakota's At-large congressional district

Current Representative		Kristi Noem (R–Castlewood)
Area	75,885 mi²
Distribution	55.8% urban, 44.2% rural
Population (2010)	814,180
Median income	$47,223
Ethnicity	84.7% White, 1.2% Black, 1.0% Asian, 2.7% Hispanic, 8.5% Native American, 2.0% other
Cook PVI	R+9

South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District is the sole congressional district for the state of South Dakota. Based on size, it is the fifth largest congressional district in the nation.

The district is currently represented by Republican Kristi Noem.

History

The district was created when South Dakota achieved statehood on November 2, 1889, electing two members At-Large (statewide). Following the 1910 Census a third seat was gained, with the legislature drawing three separate districts. The third district was eliminated after the 1930 Census.

Following the 1980 Census the second seat was eliminated, creating a single At-Large district. Since 1983, South Dakota has retained a single congressional district.

Voter registration

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 2, 2013
Party		Total Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	190,212	35.77%
	Republican	244,111	45.91%
	Minor Parties	1,523	0.29%
	Unaffiliated	95,846	18.03%
Total		531,692	100%

Presidential Performance

2000: Gore - 37.56%, Bush - 60.30%, Third Party - 2.14%
2004: Kerry - 38.44%, Bush - 59.91%, Third Party - 1.65%
2008: Obama - 44.75%, McCain - 53.16%, Third Party - 2.09%
2012: Obama - 39.87%, Romney - 57.89%, Third Party - 2.24%

Performance Average - Democrat (40.16%), Republican (57.82%), Third Party (2.03%)

2008 Presidential primary

Democratic primary

Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York won the June 3, 2008 South Dakota Democratic Primary with 55.35% of the statewide/at-large congressional district vote while Barack Obama of Illinois received 44.65%. The state/at-large congressional district gave Clinton her final win during the course of the historic and heavily drawn-out 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary season.

U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who had previously endorsed John Edwards, decided to support Obama before her state/congressional district voted in the primary for Clinton.

Republican primary

John McCain of Arizona easily won the June 3, 2008 South Dakota GOP Primary with 70.19% of the statewide/at-large congressional district vote while libertarian-leaning Ron Paul of Texas finished in second place in the state/congressional district with 16.52%.

Recent elections

2004 special election

Incumbent U.S. Representative Bill Janklow resigned the seat January 20, 2004, after he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, triggering a special election. Democrat Stephanie Herseth was selected as the Democratic nominee for this special election and she defeated Republican Larry Diedrich with 51 percent of the vote in a close-fought election on June 1, 2004. Herseth's victory briefly gave the state its first all-Democratic congressional delegation since 1937.

2004 general election

In the November general election, Herseth was elected to a full term with 53.4 percent of the vote, an increase of a few percentage points compared with the even closer June special elections. Herseth's vote margin in June was about 3,000 votes, but by November it had grown to over 29,000.

Herseth thereby became the first woman in state history to win a full term in the U.S. Congress.

Both elections were hard-fought and close compared to many House races in the rest of the United States, and the special election was watched closely by a national audience. The general election was also viewed as one of the most competitive in the country, but was overshadowed in the state by the highly competitive U.S. Senate race between Democrat Tom Daschle and Republican John Thune, which Thune narrowly won.

2006 election

South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (inc.)	230,468	69.09	+15.73
	Republican	Bruce Whalen	97,864	29.34	-16.57
	Libertarian	Larry Rudebusch	5,230	1.57	+0.85
	Democratic hold		Swing
Turnout			333,562

2008 election

South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (inc.)	256,041	67.56	-1.53
	Republican	Chris Lien	122,966	32.44	+3.10
	Democratic hold		Swing
Turnout			379,007

2010 election

South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (inc.)	146,589	45.89	-21.67
	Republican	Kristi Noem	153,703	48.12	+15.68
	Independent	B. Thomas Marking	19,134	5.99	+5.99
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing
Turnout			319,426

2012 election

South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kristi Noem (inc.)	207,640	57.45	+9.33
	Democratic	Matt Varilek	153,789	42.55	-3.34
	Republican hold		Swing
Turnout			361,429

List of representatives

Two seats were created in 1889. They were changed into three districts in 1913. One at-large seat remained after 1983.

Cong ress	Years	Seat A			Seat B
Cong ress	Years	Representative	Party	Electoral history	Representative	Party	Electoral history
51	November 2, 1889 – March 4, 1891	John Pickler	Republican	First elected in 1889 Re-elected in 1890 Re-elected in 1892 Re-elected in 1894 Retired	Oscar S. Gifford	Republican	Was Dakota Territory's territorial delegate Elected in 1889 Lost renomination
52	March 4, 1891 – August 14, 1891		John Rankin Gamble		Republican	Elected in 1890 Died
	August 14, 1891 – December 7, 1891		Vacant
	December 7, 1891 – March 4, 1893		John L. Jolley		Republican	Elected to finish Gamble's term Retired
53	March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1895		William V. Lucas		Republican	Elected in 1892 Lost renomination
54	March 4, 1895 – March 4, 1897		Robert J. Gamble		Republican	Elected in 1894 Lost re-election
55	March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1899	John Edward Kelley	Populist		Elected in 1896 Lost re-election	Freeman Knowles	Populist	Elected in 1896 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
56	March 4, 1899 – March 4, 1901	Charles H. Burke	Republican	First elected in 1898 Re-elected in 1900 Re-elected in 1902 Re-elected in 1904 Lost renomination	Robert J. Gamble	Republican	Elected in 1898 Retired to run for U.S. Senate
57	March 4, 1901 – March 4, 1903		Eben Martin		Republican	First elected in 1900 Re-elected in 1902 Re-elected in 1904 Retired to run for U.S. Senate
58	March 4, 1903 – March 4, 1905
59	March 4, 1905 – March 4, 1907
60	March 4, 1907 – June 26, 1908	Philo Hall	Republican	Elected in 1906 Lost renomination	William H. Parker	Republican	Elected in 1906 Died
	June 26, 1908 – November 3, 1908		Vacant
	November 3, 1908 – March 4, 1909		Eben Martin		Republican	First elected to finish Parker's term Elected to next full term Re-elected in 1910 Redistricted to the 2nd district, and was re-elected there in 1912
61	March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1911	Charles H. Burke			Republican		First elected in 1908 Re-elected in 1910 Redistricted to the 1st district, and was re-elected there in 1912
62	March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1913	Charles H. Burke
In 1913, the two at-large seats were replaced by three districts. There were no at-large seats, therefore, until 1983.
By 1983, the remaining two district seats were reduced to one at-large seat.
98	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985	Tom Daschle	Democratic	Redistricted from the 1st district, and re-elected in 1982 Re-elected in 1984 Retired to run for U.S. Senate
99	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1987	Tom Daschle
100	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989	Tim Johnson	Democratic	First elected in 1986 Re-elected in 1988 Re-elected in 1990 Re-elected in 1992 Re-elected in 1994 Re-elected in 1996 Retired to run for U.S. Senate
101	January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1991
102	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993
103	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
104	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
105	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 1999	John Thune	Republican	First elected in 1996 Re-elected in 1998 Re-elected in 2000 Retired to run for U.S. Senate
106	January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001
107	January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2003
108	January 3, 2003 – January 20, 2004	Bill Janklow	Republican	Elected in 2002 Resigned when convicted of vehicular manslaughter
	January 20, 2004 – June 3, 2004	Vacant
	June 3, 2004 – January 3, 2005	Stephanie Herseth Sandlin	Democratic	First elected to finish Janklow's term Elected to full term in 2004 Re-elected in 2006 Re-elected in 2008 Lost re-election
109	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
110	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
111	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
112	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	Kristi Noem	Republican	First elected in 2010 Re-elected in 2012
113	January 3, 2013 – present	Kristi Noem		First elected in 2010 Re-elected in 2012

References

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

2004 campaign finance data

South Dakota's congressional districts

All districts Territory At-large 1 2 3 All but the At-large district are obsolete See also South Dakota's past and present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations Recent U.S. House elections in South Dakota: 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 All U.S. districts Apportionment Redistricting Gerrymandering South Dakota Maps

Coordinates: 44°30′N 100°00′W / 44.5°N 100°W / 44.5; -100