South Dakota's At-large congressional district

South Dakota's At-large congressional district
Current Representative		Kristi Noem (R–Castlewood)
Population (2000)	754,854
Median income	$35,282
Ethnicity	88.7% White, 0.6% Black, 0.6% Asian, 1.4% Hispanic, 8.3% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+9

The South Dakota at-large congressional district covers the entire state of South Dakota. It was created in 1982, after South Dakota lost its 2nd District. From 1889 to 1913, it existed with two representatives elected statewide at-large.

It is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Kristi Noem who has represented the district since 2011.

Seats added and removed

When South Dakota was admitted to the Union in 1889, it was allocated two congressional seats, both of which were filled from the state at-large. This continued until South Dakota received a third congressional seat after the 1910 U.S. Census and individual districts were established.

From 1913 to 1933, South Dakota had three seats. In 1933, one seat was eliminated. In 1983, the second seat was also eliminated, leaving South Dakota with one seat which was again elected at-large.

Presidential Voting History

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
2008	President	McCain 53 - 44%
2004	President	Bush 59 - 38%

List of representatives

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

1889 – 1913: Two seats

1st seat

Representative	Party	Years	Congress	District Home	Notes
John A. Pickler	Republican	November 2, 1889 – March 4, 1897	51 52 53 54		Retired
John Edward Kelley	Populist	March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1899	55		Lost re-election
Charles H. Burke	Republican	March 4, 1899 – March 4, 1907	56 57 58 59		Lost renomination
Philo Hall	Republican	March 4, 1907 – March 4, 1909	60		Lost renomination
Charles H. Burke	Republican	March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913	61 62		Redistricted to the 1st district

2nd seat

Representative	Party	Years	Congress	District home	Notes
Oscar S. Gifford	Republican	November 2, 1889 – March 4, 1891	51	Canton	Was Dakota Territory's territorial delegate; Lost renomination
John Rankin Gamble	Republican	March 4, 1891 – August 14, 1891	52	Yankton	Died
Vacant		August 14, 1891 – December 7, 1891
John L. Jolley	Republican	December 7, 1891 – March 4, 1893		Vermillion	Retired
William V. Lucas	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1895	53	Hot Springs	Lost renomination
Robert J. Gamble	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 4, 1897	54	Yankton	Lost re-election
Freeman T. Knowles	Populist	March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1899	55	Deadwood
Robert J. Gamble	Republican	March 4, 1899 – March 4, 1901	56	Yankton	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
Eben W. Martin	Republican	March 4, 1901 – March 4, 1907	57 58 59	Hot Springs	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
William H. Parker	Republican	March 4, 1907 – June 26, 1908	60	Deadwood	Died
Vacant		June 26, 1908 – November 3, 1908
Eben W. Martin	Republican	November 3, 1908 – March 4, 1913		Hot Springs	Redistricted to the 2nd district
			61 62

1913 – 1983: Three, then two, districts

In 1913, the two at-large seats were replaced by three districts. There were no at-large seats, therefore, until 1983.

1983 – present: One seat

By 1983, the remaining two district seats were reduced to one at-large seat.

Representative	Party	Years	Congress	District home	Notes
Tom Daschle	Democratic	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987	98 99	Aberdeen	Redistricted from the 1st district; Retired to run for U.S. Senator
Tim Johnson	Democratic	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1997	101 102 103 104	Vermillion	Retired to run for U.S. Senator
John R. Thune	Republican	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003	105 106 107		Retired to run for U.S. Senator
Bill Janklow	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 20, 2004	108		Resigned when convicted of vehicular manslaughter
Vacant		January 20, 2004 – June 3, 2004
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin	Democratic	June 3, 2004 – January 3, 2011
			108 109 110 111				Defeated for re-election to 112th Congress
Kristi Noem	Republican	January 3, 2011 – present	112		Incumbent

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.

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%.

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