South Dakota Republican legislative leaders are directing extra money toward a handful of competitive races in the state, while a few Democrats are outspending or nearly keeping pace with their Republican opponents ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
All 105 seats in the South Dakota Legislature are on the ballot. Republicans had locks on roughly half of the seats before any votes were cast, because of Democrats’ failure to field a full slate of candidates in many districts.
Following are summaries of some races where campaign finance reports filed ahead of an Oct. 21 deadline indicated a potentially competitive contest, based on money raised and spent since last spring.
Senate District 32 (Rapid City)
The Senate race in District 32, which covers portions of central Rapid City, has shaped up as a proxy war for factions within the Republican Party.
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Incumbent Republican Sen. Helene Duhamel faces a challenge from Karen McNeal, who is running as an independent while campaigning as a conservative. There is no Democrat in the race. Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City, looks to the Senate gallery on Feb. 20, 2024, in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
Duhamel raised about $72,000 and spent over $43,000. Nearly $24,000 came from individual donors, with another $40,000 from political action committees representing industries such as health care, corn growers, utilities and chambers of commerce.
Of the political action committee money, $25,000 came from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Republican Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, and reported spending a total of $80,000 to support various candidates ahead of this election.
McNeal collected about $17,000 in donations and spent the same. About $15,000 came from individual supporters, while Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach’s Liberty Tree PAC contributed $2,000. Odenbach’s committee targeted Republicans in the June primary that he deemed insufficiently conservative, helping to defeat 14 Republican incumbents.
House District 32 (Rapid City)
In the District 32 House race, Duhamel’s husband, incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Duffy, is in a three-way race for two seats with Republican Brook Kaufman and Democrat Nicole Uhre-Balk. Republican Rep. Kristin Conzet is not running.
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Kaufman spent about $31,000, followed by Duffy’s spending of $23,000 and Uhre-Balk’s spending of $20,000.
Kaufman received $18,000 from political action committees and $12,000 from individuals, while Duffy received $19,000 from PACs and $2,000 from individuals. Uhre-Balk received $4,000 from PACs and $18,000 from individual contributions.
Senate District 34 (Rapid City)
Democrat Kehala Two Bulls is well-funded in her race against Republican former legislator Taffy Howard for the District 34 Senate seat vacated by the retiring Republican Mike Diedrich. The district covers western Rapid City and adjacent outlying areas.
Two Bulls has taken in $7,000 in contributions of $100 or less, and $16,000 in contributions over $100. In total, she’s taken in $29,000 and spent $21,000.
Howard has raised $3,500 in contributions of $100 or less, and $15,000 in contributions over $100. She’s taken in a total of $23,000 and spent $40,000, after starting with $33,000 from past campaigns.
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Toby Doeden’s Dakota First Action political action committee gave Howard $3,800. The group recently held a gala criticized by some Republicans for its inclusion of a speech from North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson, who was outed by CNN for racist and sexually explicit remarks more than a decade ago on a pornographic website’s message board.
Senate District 12 (Sioux Falls)
In District 12, which covers a portion of southwest Sioux Falls straddling Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties, Republican incumbent Sen. Arch Beal has been out-fundraised and outspent by Democratic challenger Clay Hoffman.
Beal took in $48,000 and spent $30,000. Of his campaign contributions, $250 came from individuals giving $100 or less, and $14,250 came from people giving over that amount. Another $1,000 came from Anheuser-Busch and $1,000 from TRGU LLC, his company. Other political action committees gave another $29,000, including $15,000 from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee.
He also received $3,900 worth of campaign material and travel expenses during door-knocking events from the Students for Life Action committee, which is a group of student anti-abortion advocates.
Hoffman took in $66,000 and spent $45,000. Of the contributions, $12,000 came from individuals giving $100 or less, and another $32,000 came from people giving over $100. Former Democratic candidate for governor Jamie Smith, who is running for Senate in District 15, contributed $1,000 from his campaign to Hoffman’s.
The Majority PAC, run by Sioux Falls Democratic state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, of Sioux Falls, who is not seeking reelection in District 15, made the largest donation to Hoffman, contributing $5,000.
Senate, District 14 (Sioux Falls)
Another Republican state Senate incumbent being outspent by a Democratic challenger is Larry Zikmund in District 14, which covers a portion of southeast Sioux Falls.
Democrat Sandra Henry has raised $58,000 and spent $39,000. Zikmund has raised $42,000 and spent $34,000.
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Zikmund was helped by $15,000 from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. Another $12,000 of Zikmund’s campaign chest came from individuals.
For Henry, the vast majority of contributions came from individuals, including $13,000 in contributions of $100 or less. Another $1,000 came from Nesiba’s PAC.
Senate District 18 (Clay, Yankton counties)
District 18, which covers Yankton County and a portion of Clay County, has an open Senate seat after Republican challenger Lauren Nelson toppled Sen. Jean Hunhoff in the June primary, ending Hunhoff’s 24-year legislative career.
Nelson, of Yankton, has raised $23,000 and spent $30,000, after starting with $8,000 leftover from the primary. She took in $2,000 in donations of $100 or less. The campaign’s biggest donation was $8,000 from her and her husband. Odenbach’s Liberty Tree PAC kicked in $500.
The Democratic candidate, Sarah Carda, also of Yankton, took in over $28,000 and spent $24,000. She received $3,500 in donations of $100 or less, and $10,000 from Nesiba’s PAC.
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House District 1 (Brown, Day, Marshall, Roberts counties)
In District 1, which covers the northeast corner of the state, six candidates are vying for the district’s two House seats: two Republicans, two Democrats and two Libertarians.
Incumbent Republican Joe Donnell did not run for reelection, and Republican incumbent Tamara St. John lost to two other Republicans in the June primary.
One of those Republicans, Logan Manhart, of Aberdeen, has taken in $14,500 and spent over $16,000. Of that, $30 came from individuals giving $100 or less and nearly $10,000 came from people giving over $100, though several names listed are companies. Manhart received $500 from Odenbach’s Liberty Tree PAC.
Fellow Republican Christopher Reder, of Warner, took in about $8,000 and spent $8,000. Of that, $170 came from individuals giving $100 or less and $3,200 came from those giving over $100. He also received funds from Liberty Tree PAC, as well as the South Dakota Freedom Caucus PAC, another group advocating conservative positions.
Reder and Manhart both received about $1,400 from Dakota First Action, and both attended the event that featured Mark Robinson. The House GOP PAC, chaired by House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, who criticized the Robinson event, gave Reder and Manhart $1,500 each.
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Democrat Steven McCleerey, of Sisseton, raised about $21,000 and spent $16,000. Of that, $2,000 came from individuals giving $100 or less. Another $11,100 came from people giving over over $100.
Fellow Democrat Mark Sumption, of Frederick, raised and spent $11,000. His biggest contribution was $1,500 from Bluestem Initiative, a political action committee chaired by state Rep. Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls. That group gave a total of $15,500 to various candidates.
Libertarians Josh Dennert, of Aberdeen, and Tamara Lesnar, of Grenville, raised under $2,000 combined.
House District 3 (Aberdeen)
In District 3, which covers most of Aberdeen and surrounding areas, a Democratic challenger has raised more for her campaign than either of the two Republicans in the three-way race for two seats.
The Democrat, Erin Rudner, brought in over $46,000, including a $5,000 loan from herself to her campaign. She raised $4,000 from individuals giving $100 or less, and another $22,520 from people giving over $100. One 605 Victory Fund gave her campaign its greatest contribution, of $9,500. That funding predominately came from Steve Pfeiffer, of Aberdeen.
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Term-limited Republican state Sen. Al Novstrup is attempting to switch from the Senate to the House. His campaign brought in $13,000, including a $3,700 loan from himself. Incumbent Republican Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer raised $21,000, including a $10,000 loan from herself. Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, on the Senate floor during the 2024 legislative session. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Senate District 27 (Bennett, Jackson, Pennington, Oglala Lakota counties)
Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge, took in $13,000, and spent $19,000. Her committee already had $9,00 on hand. Her biggest donation was $5,000 from Nesiba’s Majority PAC.
Her Republican challenger, Anthony Kathol, took in about $8,000 and spent $12,000. His biggest reported contribution was $3,700 to his own campaign for food and gas. The second biggest was $1,250 from Foster’s 2022 Republican challenger David Jones.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (4-4) at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (4-2)
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Flagstaff, Arizona; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Jackrabbits -2.5; over/under is 149.5
BOTTOM LINE: Northern Arizona faces South Dakota State after Ryan Abelman scored 20 points in Northern Arizona’s 79-72 victory over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.
The Lumberjacks have gone 4-0 at home. Northern Arizona scores 81.2 points and has outscored opponents by 5.5 points per game.
The Jackrabbits are 0-2 in road games. South Dakota State ranks seventh in the Summit League shooting 30.9% from 3-point range.
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Northern Arizona makes 47.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 7.5 percentage points higher than South Dakota State has allowed to its opponents (40.4%). South Dakota State averages 71.6 points per game, 4.1 fewer than the 75.7 Northern Arizona allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Zack Davidson is shooting 62.1% and averaging 16.8 points for the Lumberjacks. Abelman is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers.
Jaden Jackson is averaging 12.1 points and 1.5 steals for the Jackrabbits. Joe Sayler is averaging 11.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
PIERRE — Gov. Larry Rhoden’s first budget address as governor is in the books.
And it was a “straightforward” budget without many surprises, as multiple lawmakers told the Argus Leader.
Rhoden presented his recommended budget Dec. 2 for South Dakota’s fiscal year 2027 at the State Capitol Building.
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The Republican governor asked lawmakers to budget $7.44 billion in state fiscal year 2027, up from the $7.28 billion recommended by former Gov. Kristi Noem for FY2026. FY2027 is split between about 34% state funds, 42% federal funds and 23% funds marked as “other.”
Rhoden is also leaving about $14 million for lawmakers to divvy up during the upcoming Legislative Session in January. And an additional 135 full-time staff have been recommended for the next fiscal year, up from a budgeted 14,095 in FY 2026.
But Rhoden, who is only serving a partial term as governor after having taken over the reins from Noem last January and now faces reelection in 2026, is taking on the state’s fiscal goals and ambitions amid slim revenue projections and realities.
“I won’t sugarcoat it: Revenues have been pretty flat – only rising slightly,” Rhoden told lawmakers during his address. “But we have to keep the context in mind. We’re coming off some of the strongest years in our state’s history – or in any state’s history. Our economic growth may have slowed, but we’re comparing that to the fastest growth that South Dakota has ever seen.”
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Ongoing sales and use tax collections suffered in FY25 before bounce back
More than half of the state’s overall revenue picture is made up of an ongoing sales and use tax, which saw a fiscal year-to-year decrease.
South Dakota FY2025 collected about $1.43 billion from the state sales and use tax — a 1.5% decrease compared with FY2024. Data from the state’s Bureau of Finance & Management indicates several months measured in FY2025 saw dips in sales and use tax growth.
The Rhoden budget estimates the FY2026 collections will reach about $1.5 billion and $1.56 billion in FY2027.
State sales and use tax revenue has seen month-to-month growth since June, with a more-than-8% increase in October.
“We’ll be getting November numbers any day now,” Rhoden said. “Year-to-date, we’re about where we want to be. 4% to 5% growth is pretty typical for South Dakota, but it also means we don’t have a ton of headroom.”
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South Dakota’s farm sector sees impacts of Trump tariffs; Rhoden says to ‘pray for rain’
Recent data shows the Midwest has seen economic swings in the agriculture and commodity markets — and Rhoden had to acknowledge it, at least in part.
According to a recent study by The Dakota Institute, a nonprofit economic research firm, South Dakota saw its real gross domestic product (GDP) shrink by 3.1% in Q1 of 2025 — neighboring states saw similar impacts.
It later rebounded in South Dakota with 5.2% annualized growth in Q2 of 2025. But President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and an international trade war underlined the volatile nature of in the state’s corn, soybean and wheat prices, which have dropped since to lowest prices in years, while U.S. beef cattle prices are at record highs.
“The weakness reflected ongoing pressures from trade disruptions through the implementation of tariffs and a mass renegotiation process of multiple trade agreements,” The Dakota Institute’s study indicated. “This volatility — contraction followed by robust recovery within six months — underscores both the region’s vulnerability to external shocks and its capacity to bounce back when conditions stabilize.”
“When ag does well, the state does well,” Rhoden said. “But when ag struggles, our growth tends to slow down … Historically, there’s been a correlation between our sales tax collections and farm income. So let’s pray for rain and for President Trump to be successful in his trade negotiations.”
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Medicaid spending overtakes K-12 dollars in FY27
Medicaid, one of South Dakota’s largest fiscal responsibilities, has grown “far faster than any other area of the budget,” Rhoden said.
“In fact,” Rhoden added, “for the first time in state history, Medicaid is a bigger share of the general fund than K-12 education.”
According to the BFM, the state’s Medicaid budget has grown by $360 million since 2020 to $758 million. Rhoden budgeted $725 million for K-12 education.
The state’s share of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which determines matching each state’s federal match, now represents $105 million. South Dakota’s coverage share went up by 0.86%, from 48.47% to 49.33%.
State employees won’t see budgeted raises in next fiscal year
Breaking from his predecessor, who pushed for state employee raises during her tenure as governor, Rhoden revealed that employees for the state won’t see a baseline raise to their salaries in FY2027.
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Rhoden said the state budget includes a “modest investment in our State Employee Health Plan,” specifically a $3 million investment in health plan reserves. The Republican governor added there are also “plan changes” in the works to prevent employees’ healthcare costs from going up, “since we won’t be able to give them a raise this year.”
But Eric Ollila, executive director and lobbyist for the South Dakota State Employees Organization, told the Argus Leader following the budget address that Rhoden’s budget picture doesn’t account for healthcare deductibles.
Ollila also said the “plan changes” that Rhoden teased were too vague for his liking. He later expressed concern that the changes would be passed through to state employees.
“What it’s not going to do is save employees 100% of the healthcare costs,” Ollila said.
Rhoden recommends raising reserve allocation to 12.5%
Rhoden plans to increase the state’s budget reserve from 10% to 12.5%
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The governor attributed his desire to raise reserves based on “continued slower revenue growth and weakness in the farm sector.”
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The South Dakota Arts Council is seeking submissions for the Art for State Buildings Program. South Dakota artists have until March 1, 2026, to submit purchase proposals for consideration.
The Art for State Buildings program was created for the purpose of creating a permanent collection for the State of South Dakota and exhibiting the work of talented South Dakota artists in areas of state government buildings with public access. Work purchased will be installed in public access areas of the Capitol and other state buildings in Pierre.
Any South Dakota artists whose body of work has contributed to the state’s cultural heritage and development are encouraged to submit their work. Artists may propose one artwork for purchase.
Proposals will be reviewed by an advisory committee to the South Dakota Arts Council.
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Selection will be based on:
Quality of the proposed work and relevance to the artist’s career;
The artwork’s relevance to South Dakota’s environment, history, heritage, or culture;
The applicant’s professional arts experience; and
Physical attributes of the artwork regarding durability and safety in a public setting
Submissions must be received through the South Dakota Arts Council’s online Artwork Archive platform. The complete request for proposal and submission instructions are posted at https://artscouncil.sd.gov/directories/artstatebldgs.aspx. For assistance call 605-773-3102 or email sarah.carlson@state.sd.us.
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