state house districtSouth Dakota 16th State House District
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004R+28.0
2008R+15.6
2012R+26.3
2016R+33.3
2020R+28.2
2024R+31.0
full record · 1892 → 2024
presidential returns
2024 turnout 100%+ of 18,689 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
12,869
24,813
839
38,522
18,689
100%+
2020
12,261
22,204
855
35,320
15,748†
100%+
2016
8,673
18,201
1,775
28,650
14,268†
100%+
2012
9,323
16,131
430
25,884
12,924†
100%+
2008
10,369
14,291
461
25,120
11,505†
100%+
2004
7,833
14,022
286
22,141
10,085†
100%+
† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles from the constituent-county ACS trend anchored to the current figure. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003. Election totals and ACS CVAP use different vintages; the resulting turnout can exceed 100%.
——
D+60R+60
18922024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupSD HD 16South DakotaUnited States
German37.2%33.1%12.5%
Norwegian13.7%10.4%—
Irish10.3%9.9%9.4%
English7.3%7.7%9.5%
Dutch6.5%3.4%—
American5.5%4.4%5.3%
Swedish3.7%2.5%—
Polish1.3%—2.2%
Mexican1.6%2.6%11.3%
Guatemalan0.3%0.5%0.5%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
SD HD 16
South Dakota
United States
Median age
41.5
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
7.4%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
15.9%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
SD HD 16
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$79,825
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
7.2%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
41.6%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
SD HD 16
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
5.2%
7.1%
22.3%
Spanish
1.7%
2.6%
13.6%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic
1.3%
0.4%
0.7%
Religious landscape
Measure
SD HD 16
South Dakota
United States
Catholic
—
14.8%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
20.1%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
44.9%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
South Dakota 16th State House District
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−37.6%
1896
−8.4%
1900
−23.3%
1904
−58.8%
1908
−33.8%
1912
+33.7%
1916
−12.7%
1920
−52.6%
1924
−33.4%
1928
−32.8%
1932
+25.7%
1936
+3.8%
1940
−31.2%
1944
−32.0%
1948
−19.3%
1952
−54.0%
1956
−26.4%
1960
−29.3%
1964
+2.0%
1968
−24.5%
1972
−9.5%
1976
−5.2%
1980
−27.6%
1984
−21.1%
1988
−3.2%
1992
−3.1%
1996
−4.4%
2000
−23.7%
2004
−28.0%
2008
−15.6%
2012
−26.3%
2016
−33.3%
2020
−28.2%
2024
−31.0%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. † 2004, 2012 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for these cycles was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
33.4%Harris12,869
64.4%Trump24,813
2.2%
R+31.0
R+2.9
R+29.5
38,522
R
34.7%Biden12,261
62.9%Trump22,204
2.4%
R+28.2
D+5.1
R+32.6
35,320
R
30.3%Clinton8,673
63.5%Trump18,201
6.2%
R+33.3
R+7.0
R+35.3
28,650
R
36.0%Obama9,323
62.3%Romney16,131
1.7%
R+26.3
R+10.7
R+30.2
25,884
R
41.3%Obama10,369
56.9%McCain14,291
1.8%
R+15.6
D+12.3
R+22.9
25,120
R
35.4%Kerry7,833
63.3%Bush14,022
1.3%
R+28.0
R+4.3
R+25.5
22,141
R
37.2%Gore5,746
60.9%Bush9,399
1.9%
R+23.7
R+19.3
R+24.2
15,435
R
43.0%Clinton5,819
47.4%Dole6,416
9.6%
R+4.4
R+1.4
R+12.9
13,538
R
38.1%Clinton5,007
41.2%Bush5,408
20.7%
R+3.1
D+0.1
R+8.6
13,135
R
48.2%Dukakis5,687
51.3%Bush6,061
0.5%
R+3.2
D+17.9
D+4.6
11,810
R
39.3%Mondale4,744
60.3%Reagan7,292
0.4%
R+21.1
D+6.5
R+2.9
12,086
R
32.2%Carter4,106
59.8%Reagan7,619
8.0%
R+27.6
R+22.3
R+17.8
12,739
R
47.2%Carter5,559
52.4%Ford6,176
0.4%
R+5.2
D+4.3
R+7.3
11,782
R
45.1%McGovern5,367
54.6%Nixon6,495
0.2%
R+9.5
D+15.0
D+13.7
11,889
R
35.6%Humphrey3,967
60.0%Nixon6,700
4.4%
R+24.5
R+26.5
R+23.8
11,158
D
51.0%Johnson5,875
49.0%Goldwater5,645
0.0%
D+2.0
D+31.3
R+20.6
11,520
R
35.4%Kennedy4,352
64.7%Nixon7,960
0.0%
R+29.3
R+2.9
R+29.5
12,311
R
36.8%Stevenson4,595
63.2%Eisenhower7,887
0.0%
R+26.4
D+27.6
R+11.0
12,482
R
23.0%Stevenson2,831
77.0%Eisenhower9,475
0.0%
R+54.0
R+34.7
R+43.2
12,307
R
39.9%Truman4,138
59.2%Dewey6,139
0.9%
R+19.3
D+12.7
R+23.8
10,371
R
34.0%Roosevelt3,689
66.0%Dewey7,163
0.0%
R+32.0
R+0.8
R+39.5
10,852
R
34.4%Roosevelt4,767
65.6%Willkie9,085
0.0%
R+31.2
R+35.0
R+41.1
13,852
D
48.1%Roosevelt6,691
44.3%Landon6,163
7.5%
D+3.8
R+21.9
R+20.5
13,897
D
62.2%Roosevelt7,508
36.5%Hoover4,402
1.3%
D+25.7
D+58.5
D+7.9
12,071
R
33.4%Smith3,574
66.2%Hoover7,086
0.4%
R+32.8
D+0.6
R+15.3
10,704
R
11.5%Davis1,007
44.9%Coolidge3,933
43.6%
R+33.4
D+19.2
R+8.2
8,762
R
16.9%Cox1,388
69.5%Harding5,703
13.6%
R+52.6
R+39.9
R+26.4
8,208
R
42.3%Wilson2,522
54.9%Hughes3,277
2.8%
R+12.7
R+46.4
R+15.8
5,964
O
33.7%Wilson1,938
0.0%Taft0
66.3%
Roosevelt +32.6
D+67.5
D+14.2
5,748
R
31.1%Bryan1,858
64.8%Taft3,876
4.1%
R+33.8
D+25.1
R+24.2
5,978
R
18.0%Parker1,198
76.9%Roosevelt5,109
5.1%
R+58.8
R+35.5
R+39.2
6,648
R
37.6%Bryan2,566
60.9%McKinley4,160
1.5%
R+23.3
R+15.0
R+15.8
6,828
R
45.5%Bryan2,850
53.9%McKinley3,374
0.6%
R+8.4
D+29.2
R+2.3
6,263
R
14.9%Cleveland673
52.5%Harrison2,367
32.6%
R+37.6
—
R+39.2
4,509
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current representation
Current officeholders
RJohn ShubeckState House · 16
RKarla LemsState House · 16
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+44.8, this district of roughly 24,000 residents represents the deeply conservative rural character that defines much of western South Dakota's legislative delegation.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 33.7 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 58.8 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 2.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 31.0 points.
A population of 24,252, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,825 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 31 and State House District 6.
Akashic
Political twins — state-house districts
The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
South Dakota 16th State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/46016/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Dakota 16th State House District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota 16th State House District voted Republican by 31.0 points (R+31.0), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 38,522 votes cast, 12,869 went Democratic and 24,813 went Republican.
When did South Dakota 16th State House District last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Dakota 16th State House District voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in South Dakota 16th State House District?
South Dakota 16th State House District has a population of 24,252 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota 16th State House District?
Median household income in South Dakota 16th State House District is $79,825 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota 16th State House District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Dakota 16th State House District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 30 went Republican.
