South Dakota 2nd State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 · 20 presidential cycles
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Woodrow Wilson1912
47.6%
282 votes · D+47.6 · a third-party candidate carried the Place · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Michael Dukakis, 1988 · 43.4%
Republican
Theodore Roosevelt1904
80.2%
704 votes · R+69.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · William H. Taft, 1908 · 72.4%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
5,270votes
34.2% of the vote · R+29.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 4,561 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2024
9,815votes
63.7% of the vote · R+29.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 7,939 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Woodrow Wilson1912
+28.0pts D vs U.S.
Place D+47.6 · U.S. D+19.5 · a third-party candidate carried the Place · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Michael Dukakis, 1988 · −5.1 pts
Republican
Benjamin Harrison1892
+53.2pts R vs U.S.
Place R+51.5 · U.S. D+1.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Theodore Roosevelt, 1904 · +49.5 pts
current representation
Current officeholders
RSteve KolbeckState Senate · 2
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
U.S. House elections · 2 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year
Vote lead
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
R
35.3%5,120
64.7%9,370
14,490
2020
R
0.0%0
100.0%8,460
8,460
Anchored in the rural northeastern corner of the state, this district delivered a 29-point presidential margin in 2024, reflecting the agrarian, small-town demographic that defines much of South Dakota's legislative map.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 47.6 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 69.1 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 3.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 29.5 points.
A population of 26,267, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $107,215 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 25 and State Senate District 11.
Akashic
Political twins — state-senate districts
The state-senate 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 → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
South Dakota 2nd State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46002/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Dakota 2nd State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota 2nd State Senate District voted Republican by 29.5 points (R+29.5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 15,399 votes cast, 5,270 went Democratic and 9,815 went Republican.
How many people live in South Dakota 2nd State Senate District?
South Dakota 2nd State Senate District has a population of 26,267 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota 2nd State Senate District?
Median household income in South Dakota 2nd State Senate District is $107,215 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota 2nd State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Dakota 2nd State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 0 went Democratic and 33 went Republican.