The District 34 field
South Dakota House District 34 has a contested race in the 2026 general election. The candidates are Mike Derby and Heather Baxter, both Republicans and both incumbents.
The election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. The race is for a seat in the South Dakota House of Representatives representing District 34.
The field presents voters with two candidates who have the same party affiliation and the same current-office status. That means neither party label nor incumbency distinguishes Derby from Baxter. The central question in the campaign will be how the two candidates make their cases to District 34 voters before the general election.
No other candidates are listed in the District 34 general election field. With Derby and Baxter both identified as Republican incumbents, the contest is between two candidates with matching ballot descriptors rather than candidates from different parties.
Mike Derby
Mike Derby is running as a Republican incumbent for South Dakota House District 34. His incumbent designation identifies him as a current officeholder seeking another term in the chamber.
Derby does not have documented policy positions in the race. There are also no campaign totals on file for money raised, money spent or cash on hand. Those categories therefore do not offer a basis for comparing his campaign with Baxter’s at this stage.
The information attached to Derby’s candidacy establishes three central facts for voters: He is seeking the District 34 House office, he is running as a Republican, and he enters the general election as an incumbent. His name will appear in a contested race scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
Heather Baxter
Heather Baxter is running as a Republican incumbent for South Dakota House District 34. Like Derby, her incumbent designation identifies her as a current officeholder seeking another term in the chamber.
Baxter does not have documented policy positions in the race. There are also no campaign totals on file for money raised, money spent or cash on hand. Those categories therefore do not offer a basis for comparing her campaign with Derby’s at this stage.
The information attached to Baxter’s candidacy establishes the same three central facts for voters: She is seeking the District 34 House office, she is running as a Republican, and she enters the general election as an incumbent. Her name will appear in the contested Nov. 3, 2026, race.
What makes the race contested
The District 34 race is contested because more than one candidate is running for the office in the general election. Derby and Baxter are the two candidates in the field.
The usual ballot distinctions of party and incumbent status do not separate them: Both are Republicans, and both are incumbents. Voters following the race can watch for any policy positions the candidates set out and for campaign finance totals that may become part of the public record.
The next fixed point in the race is Election Day on Nov. 3, 2026. Until then, the contest centers on how Derby and Baxter distinguish themselves while seeking the same District 34 House office under the same party label and with the same incumbent designation.
