Republican Voters Once Again Opt to Oust Incumbents From South Dakota Legislature

Republican voters once again opt to oust incumbents from South Dakota Legislature

The South Dakota Senate meets on Feb. 11, 2026, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)After 14 incumbent South Dakota lawmakers lost their seats in the 2024 Republican primary, 16 lost on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office. The 2024 shakeup was described as “an earthquake” by Spearfish Rep. Scott Odenbach, a Republican incumbent who won his own primary that year and…

Port: Populist lawmakers get slaughtered in South Dakota. Are there tea leaves to read for North Dakota?

MINOT — I've been writing for years about the acrimonious and widening chasm in the North Dakota Republican Party between traditional conservatives and populists. It seems to be coming to a head this election cycle, as the factions in the party are openly at war. The populists captured control of leadership positions in the NDGOP and promptly censured Gov. Kelly Armstrong. Armstrong and other traditional Republicans boycotted the NDGOP's State C…