What to know about South Dakota’s 2026 elections

Races on the 2026 ballot

South Dakota voters will choose a governor and a member of the U.S. House on Nov. 3, 2026. The state has one U.S. House district, and House seats are elected every two years.

The 2026 South Dakota election page also points voters to primary contests and voting information. The page does not list candidates for the U.S. House contest.

Governor’s race

Dan Ahlers, a Democrat, is listed as a candidate for governor. Larry Rhoden, a Republican, is also listed as a candidate and is identified as the incumbent.

No candidate policy positions are stated on the election page. Voters can follow changes to the candidate list and the results of the primary contests as the election proceeds.

South Dakota’s recent presidential vote

Republican presidential candidates received a majority of South Dakota’s vote in each of the past three presidential elections. In 2024, Donald Trump received 63.4% and Kamala Harris received 34.2%, a margin of 29.2 percentage points. South Dakota awarded three electoral votes.

The Republican share was 61.8% in 2020, compared with 35.6% for the Democratic candidate. In 2016, the Republican candidate received 61.5% and the Democratic candidate received 31.7%.

Those presidential results describe past statewide voting and do not determine the outcome of the 2026 contests. The governor and U.S. House races will be decided separately by voters in 2026.