2016 United States Senate election in South Dakota
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 County Results
Thune: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Williams: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in South Dakota |
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The 2016 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held June 7.
Incumbent Republican Senator John Thune was considered a potential 2016 presidential candidate, but decided instead to run for a third term in office.[1]
Senator Thune was re-elected with the largest personal vote of any candidate in South Dakota's history with 265,516 votes.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- John Thune, incumbent U.S. Senator
Declined
- Gordon Howie, former State Senator, candidate for Governor in 2010 and Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[2]
- Stace Nelson, former State Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[2]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Jay Williams, Chair of the Yankton County Democratic Party, former Yankton School Board member and candidate for the State House in 2010 and 2014[3][4]
Declined
- Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senator[5][6]
- Cory Heidelberger, teacher and political activist (running for State Senate)[7][8]
- Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, former U.S. Representative[9][10]
- Mike Huether, Mayor of Sioux Falls[7][10]
- Bernie Hunhoff, state senator and candidate for governor in 1998[7]
- Sam Hurst, filmmaker and television news producer[11]
- Brendan Johnson, former United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota[9][12]
- Frank Kloucek, former State Senator[13][14]
- Phil Schreck, KSFY-TV senior meteorologist[15]
- Billie Sutton, Minority Leader of the South Dakota Senate[11][16]
- Rick Weiland, businessman, nominee for SD-AL in 1996 and candidate in 2002 and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2014[17]
Constitution Party
The Constitution Party nominated Kurt Evans for Senate depending on the resolution of a ballot-access legal action, however, the party's request to place a candidate on the ballot was not granted.[18][19][20]
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 13, 2016
- Complete video of debate, October 23, 2016
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
John Thune (R) |
Jay Williams (D) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 459 | ± 4.6% | 65% | 31% | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31–November 6, 2016 | 435 | ± 4.6% | 64% | 31% | 5% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28–November 3, 2016 | 393 | ± 4.6% | 66% | 29% | 5% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27–November 2, 2016 | 345 | ± 4.6% | 67% | 30% | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26–November 1, 2016 | 281 | ± 4.6% | 65% | 32% | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 298 | ± 4.6% | 67% | 31% | 2% |
| Nielson Brothers Polling | October 24–26, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 54% | 35% | 11% |
| Remington Research Group | October 19–21, 2016 | 1,115 | ± 3.0% | 57% | 36% | 7% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 18–20, 2016 | 400 | ± 5.0% | 65% | 27% | 8% |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[21] | Safe R | September 9, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[22] | Safe R | September 19, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[23] | Safe R | September 2, 2016 |
| Daily Kos[24] | Safe R | September 16, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics[25] | Safe R | September 15, 2016 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Thune (incumbent) | 265,516 | 71.83% | −28.17% | |
| Democratic | Jay Williams | 104,140 | 28.17% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 369,656 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
References
- ^ Everett, Burgess (January 14, 2015). "Thune: No 'opening' for a White House run". Politico. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Russo, Mark (October 26, 2015). "Thune primary challenge? Not likely!". KELO-TV. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
- ^ Sneve, Joe (February 19, 2016). "Yankton Democrat expected to challenge Thune". Argus Leader. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ Siebold, Jack (February 19, 2016). "Yankton businessman to challenge Thune". KOTA-TV. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ Mercer, Bob (March 21, 2015). "Are Democrats just a Daschle away from a revival?". Black Hills Pioneer. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Lawrence, Tom (January 26, 2016). "Daschle, Lott: Congress must work together". Black Hills Pioneer. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ a b c Lawrence, Tom (July 1, 2015). "Will anyone take on Thune in 2016?". Prairie Perspective. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Heidelberger, Cory (February 8, 2016). "Defend Voters, Support Education, Fight Corruption: Heidelberger Declares for District 3 Senate". Dakota Free Press. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- ^ a b Levinson, Alexis (February 18, 2015). "Brendan Johnson Discusses His Future in South Dakota (Updated)". Roll Call. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Tupper, Seth (December 14, 2015). "Thune frolicking through another opponent-less election season". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Woster, Kevin (August 24, 2015). "Hurst for U.S. Senate in 2016? Well …". KELO-TV. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Levinson, Alexis (March 18, 2015). "Potential Thune Challenger Bows Out". Roll Call. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Woster, Kevin (August 17, 2015). "Thune vs. Kloucek & Kolaches in 2016? Why not?". KELO-TV. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ "Dem Chances for a US Senate candidate looking even more dismal…". South Dakota War College. August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Heidelberger, Cory (August 31, 2015). "Epp Suggests Drafting Schreck to Challenge Thune". Dakota Free Press. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ^ Hendershot, Evan (February 15, 2016). "State Sen. Sutton hasn't counted out run for governor". Mitchell Daily Republic. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ "Rick Weiland returns with new nonpartisan political group". Rapid City Journal. March 18, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ Winger, Richard (August 15, 2016). "U.S. District Court Won't Put Constitution Party Nominees for U.S. Senate and Legislature on South Dakota Ballot, Due to a Legal Technicality". Ballot Access News. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ Heidelberger, Cory (August 18, 2016). "Constitution Party Still Fighting to Place Evans and Schmidt on Ballot". Dakota Free Press. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ Heidelberger, Cory (September 8, 2016). "Constitution Party Definitely Not Getting Evans and Schmidt on Ballot". Dakota Free Press. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ "2016 Senate Race Ratings for September 9, 2016". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Senate Ratings (September 2, 2016)". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ^ "Election Outlook: 2016 Race Ratings". Daily Kos. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ "Battle for the Senate 2016". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
- ^ https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/2016GeneralElectionOfficialResultsStateCanvass.pdf
External links
- Official campaign websites