South Dakota
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in North Dakota's state primaries
WASHINGTON (AP) — While possible Republican vice presidential hopeful Doug Burgum travels the country campaigning for former President Donald Trump, the race to succeed him back home as North Dakota governor tops the list of contests voters will decide in statewide and local primaries on Tuesday.
Burgum decided earlier this year not to seek a third term following his unsuccessful run for the White House. That created an opening not just for his own job but also for the state’s lone seat in the House.
Republican Kelly Armstrong has represented the state in Congress since his election in 2018 but has opted to run for governor rather than seek a fourth term in Washington. His primary opponent is Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, who seeks a promotion after serving 17 months as Burgum’s second in command.
Armstrong won the endorsement of the state Republican party at its April convention, which Miller did not attend. Meanwhile, Burgum has endorsed Miller to succeed him.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn of Fargo, as well as independent candidate Michael Coachman, a frequent statewide office-seeker who led an unsuccessful effort to recall Burgum in 2021. Republicans have held the governor’s office since 1992.
Five Republicans and two Democrats are running to replace Armstrong in Congress. Vying for the GOP nomination are former foreign service officer and military veteran Alex Balazs, former state Rep. Rick Becker, Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, attorney and former Miss America Cara Mund and Sharlet Mohr of Williston, an unsuccessful candidate for the Williston Basin School Board in 2023.
What to know about the 2024 Election
Balazs narrowly won the state party’s endorsement over Fedorchak after a prolonged vote at the state convention. Fedorchak leads the field in fundraising and had the largest campaign war chest as of late May. She is the only candidate in the field to have previously won statewide office.
In the Democratic primary, former teacher and military veteran Trygve Hammer faces frequent candidate Roland Riemers, who is simultaneously running for a seat on the Grand Forks School Board. Hammer has raised about $388,000 for the campaign and had about $141,000 in the bank as of late May.
Neither Riemers nor Mohr in the Republican primary has reported any campaign finance disclosures to the Federal Election Commission. A Democrat hasn’t won this seat since 2008.
Voters will also decide on a statewide ballot measure that would put an age limit on those running for the state’s U.S. Senate or House seats. People who would reach the age of 81 by the start of the final year of their term would be prohibited from appearing on the ballot.
Contested GOP primaries will be held in five state Senate and 10 state House districts. About half the seats in each chamber are up for election in November. Republicans have overwhelming supermajorities in both houses of the legislature.
Further down the ballot, Kirsten Baesler seeks another term as the state superintendent of public instruction. She faces three other candidates in the nonpartisan primary, including Republican Jason Heitkamp, a former state senator and cousin of former Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer is also up for reelection this year, but both he and Democrat Katrina Christiansen are unopposed in their primaries.
Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:
PRIMARY DAY
The North Dakota state primary will be held Tuesday. The last polls close at 9 p.m. ET in the state’s westernmost counties, although polls in most of the state close at 8 p.m. ET. All polls close at 7 p.m. local time, but North Dakota spans two time zones.
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in 20 races. These include contested partisan primaries for governor, House, state Senate and state House, a nonpartisan primary for superintendent of public instruction and a statewide ballot measure on congressional age limits. Republican and Democratic primary contests appear on the same ballot, but voters may cast votes in only one party’s primaries.
WHO GETS TO VOTE
North Dakota does not have a formal statewide voter registration system. Any voter who meets the age, citizenship, residence and ID requirements may participate in the primary.
DECISION NOTES
The counties that usually have the biggest impact on North Dakota elections are Cass, home to Fargo and the most populous, and Burleigh, the home of the state capital of Bismarck. Grand Forks and Ward also have a sizable share of voters. A candidate with leads in these four counties would be difficult to overtake in a statewide contest.
In the gubernatorial race, Armstrong last won a competitive primary in 2018 for his first run for the House. He won that race with 56% of the vote, carrying Cass, Burleigh, Grand Forks and Ward.
For the at-large House seat, Republicans Fedorchak and Mund and Democrat Hammer all have previous statewide vote performances that may prove instructive. Fedorchak was unopposed in her 2022 Public Service Commission primary, but she won the general with 71% of the vote. Hammer received about 30% of the vote in his Public Service Commission race that year. Mund received 38% of the vote when she challenged Armstrong as an independent in 2022. She carried Cass County, but the bulk of those Fargo-area voters willing to vote for a pro-abortion rights independent against a GOP incumbent probably won’t be voting in this year’s Republican primary.
Other things to remember: The ballot measure on congressional age limits must receive at least 50% of the vote to pass. In the state House primaries, there are two winners per seat, and voters select up to two candidates.
The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
North Dakota requires an automatic recount in primaries if the vote margin is 1% or less of the highest vote cast for a candidate of that office. Recounts for ballot measures are automatic if the vote margin is 0.25% or less of the top vote-getter’s vote total. A losing candidate may also request and pay for a recount if the vote margin is more than 1% but less than 2% of the highest vote cast for that office. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE?
In the 2022 primaries, North Dakota had a voting age population of about 585,000. That year, votes cast in the Republican Senate primary made up about 13% of the voting-age population, while votes in the Democratic primary made up about 4%. About 48% of votes in that election were cast before primary day.
As of Wednesday, a total of 27,271 ballots had been cast ballots before primary day.
HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?
In the 2022 primaries, the AP first reported results right at 9 p.m. ET as the final polls closed in the state. The election night tabulation ended at 1:10 a.m. ET with about 98% of total votes counted.
ARE WE THERE YET?
As of Tuesday, there will be 147 days until the November general election.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 29, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from April 29 drawing
03-19-35-51-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from April 29 drawing
06-19-24-30-48, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 05
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from April 29 drawing
11-14-20-24-30
Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 29 drawing
05-10-17-21-42, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
South Dakota
Here’s how much South Dakotans could save on property taxes after accounting for higher sales taxes
(SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT) – Estimates of homeowner savings abounded recently as South Dakota lawmakers and Gov. Larry Rhoden approved property tax reduction legislation.
It’s been difficult, however, to find two other estimates: 1) the extra money consumers will spend to fund reduced property taxes with higher sales taxes, and 2) the net savings for homeowners after their extra sales tax spending is subtracted from their property tax savings.
South Dakota Searchlight’s effort to answer those questions led to these estimates: The average South Dakota homeowner’s total savings if they receive both forms of property tax relief could be $1,080 annually. Meanwhile, the average South Dakota household could spend $360 more per year if subjected to both sales tax increases. When it’s all said and done, that’s a net yearly savings of about $720 for homeowners.
To learn how Searchlight arrived at those rough estimates, keep reading. But first, a bit about the new laws.
The new laws
One of the new laws allows the statewide sales tax rate to return to 4.5% next year, after a temporary reduction to 4.2% since 2023. The revenue from the increase will be allocated to the school funding formula to reduce the amount of property taxes schools need from local homeowners.
The other new law allows counties to impose their first-ever sales tax at a rate of up to 0.5%. That revenue will go toward credits to reduce the county’s portion of homeowner property taxes.
Estimating property tax savings
To estimate average property tax savings for homeowners, Searchlight asked the state Department of Revenue for the average assessed value of owner-occupied homes in the state. The department did not provide that figure.
But it did provide the total taxable value of all owner-occupied properties for taxes payable this year: $62,211,360,002.
The department also provided the total number of owner-occupied properties in the state: 253,263.
Dividing the total taxable value by the number of owner-occupied properties yields an average value of $245,639.
“However,” the department said, “this number may include both houses and additional structures such as unattached garages.” The department added that the impact of those additional structures on the average valuation is minimal.
The owner-occupied classification, which lowers the levy applied to an owner’s primary residence, can be applied to a single-family dwelling, an attached or unattached garage, and the parcel of land where a home stands. The new property tax reduction law applies specifically to single-family dwellings.
To account for the minimal impact from additional structures, Searchlight rounded up to $250,000 as the average taxable value of homes in the state.
Revenue from the increase in the statewide sales tax rate is expected to reduce property taxes by $1.683 for each $1,000 of a home’s taxable value, according to the state Bureau of Finance and Management. For the average home with a taxable value of $250,000, that’s about $420 of savings.
Homeowners’ savings if their county enacts a 0.5% sales tax to fund property tax credits will vary across the state, because counties have different property tax rates and varying levels of potential sales tax revenue. But the Governor’s Office has estimated that the average savings will be $660. The office arrived at that number by taking the total, estimated new revenue generated if every county implemented the plan, and dividing it by the number of owner-occupied properties, which should approximate the average savings per homeowner.
Thus, the total annual property tax savings for the average homeowner receiving both forms of relief would be $420 plus $660, which adds up to $1,080.
Estimating extra sales tax spending
To arrive at an estimated extra amount of spending for the average South Dakota household (meaning a house or apartment) on higher sales taxes, Searchlight first needed an estimate of the average household’s annual sales-taxable spending.
Searchlight spoke with the Dakota Institute, a nonprofit economic research and analysis organization in Sioux Falls. The institute suggested dividing the total of certain categories of taxable sales (excluding categories that are likely purchases by businesses) by the state’s 382,302 occupied housing units (including apartments), resulting in an estimate of about $82,000 in annual taxable spending per household. However, institute CEO Jared McEntaffer noted many of those purchases were still probably made by businesses and tourists, so the true average is lower.
Gov. Larry Rhoden’s finance commissioner pointed Searchlight to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report stating that the average U.S. household spent $77,280 in 2023. Sales tax does not apply to some expenses, such as prescription drugs or mortgage payments. After subtracting such categories of spending that are unlikely to be taxed and adjusting for inflation since 2023, Searchlight settled on $45,000 as the estimated average annual sales-taxable spending per South Dakota household.
If that average household is subjected to both of the new sales tax increases, it would be the equivalent of an additional 0.8% tax. On $45,000 of spending, that would be $360 of extra sales taxes annually.
In a household subjected to only the 0.3-percentage-point statewide sales tax increase (without a county sales tax), that would be $135 of extra sales taxes annually.
Estimating net savings, and complications
If the average homeowner saves $1,080 annually on property taxes from both forms of relief and spends $360 annually in extra sales taxes, that homeowner’s annual net savings would be $720.
Homeowners in counties that do not enact a sales tax for property tax relief would receive, on average, the $420 in property tax relief from the statewide sales increase and spend $135 on higher sales taxes, for a net savings of $285.
Those are rough estimates. Actual situations will vary widely across the state. Household spending varies by income. Homes in rural areas are typically valued lower than in urban areas. Counties have different property tax rates, called levies. Some counties may choose to enact a sales tax for property tax relief, and others may not. In counties that do adopt a sales tax, the amount of revenue available for property tax relief will vary. And people who live in counties that do not adopt a sales tax will likely travel and spend money in counties that do.
And, for households that rent rather than own their home, it’s all just a sales tax increase.
South Dakota Searchlight is part ofStates Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 28, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 28 drawing
14-36-41-47-66, Mega Ball: 15
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 28 drawing
11-21-34-39-45, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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