state senate districtSouth Dakota 3rd State Senate District
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004R+13.1
2008D+5.4
2012R+6.7
2016R+25.9
2020R+23.1
2024R+27.0
full record · 1892 → 2024
presidential returns
2024 turnout 1.8% of 19,702 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
129
227
7
363
19,702
1.8%
2020
139
225
9
373
20,202†
1.8%
2016
116
205
22
343
20,090†
1.7%
2012
154
177
11
342
19,564†
1.7%
2008
192
172
7
371
19,059†
1.9%
2004
169
221
6
396
18,554†
2.1%
† 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.
——
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 SD 3South DakotaUnited States
German42.6%33.1%12.5%
Norwegian10.9%10.4%—
English7.8%7.7%9.5%
Irish7.2%9.9%9.4%
American4.5%4.4%5.3%
Dutch2.4%3.4%—
Swedish2.3%2.5%—
Russian2.3%——
Mexican2.0%2.6%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.3%0.4%1.8%
Cuban0.6%—0.7%
Guatemalan0.6%0.5%0.5%
Dominican0.2%—0.7%
Turtle Mountain Chippewa0.4%——
Burmese1.4%0.2%—
Filipino0.5%0.2%0.9%
Chinese0.4%—1.3%
Vietnamese0.3%—0.6%
Korean0.2%—0.4%
African American†1.2%1.1%9.9%
South African0.3%——
Guyanese0.3%——
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 SD 3
South Dakota
United States
Median age
36.5
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
10.6%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.7%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
SD SD 3
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$64,838
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
13.2%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
33.8%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
SD SD 3
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
6.6%
7.1%
22.3%
Spanish
2.6%
2.6%
13.6%
German or other West Germanic
1.5%
0.8%
0.5%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
1.4%
0.4%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
SD SD 3
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 3rd State Senate District
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−36.8%
1896
+8.0%
1900
−11.6%
1904
−42.0%
1908
−17.8%
1912
+51.0%
1916
+0.0%
1920
−42.9%
1924
−52.1%
1928
−17.6%
1932
+29.8%
1936
+33.2%
1940
+9.9%
1944
+6.3%
1948
+11.6%
1952
−21.8%
1956
−6.4%
1960
−0.9%
1964
+24.4%
1968
+4.2%
1972
+0.6%
1976
+7.6%
1980
−25.1%
1984
−21.0%
1988
+0.8%
1992
+4.7%
1996
+6.6%
2000
−11.4%
2004
−13.1%
2008
+5.4%
2012
−6.7%
2016
−25.9%
2020
−23.1%
2024
−27.0%
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
35.5%Harris129
62.5%Trump227
1.9%
R+27.0
R+3.9
R+25.5
363
R
37.3%Biden139
60.3%Trump225
2.4%
R+23.1
D+2.9
R+27.5
373
R
33.8%Clinton116
59.8%Trump205
6.4%
R+25.9
R+19.2
R+28.0
343
R
45.0%Obama154
51.8%Romney177
3.2%
R+6.7
R+12.1
R+10.6
342
D
51.8%Obama192
46.4%McCain172
1.9%
D+5.4
D+18.5
R+1.9
371
R
42.7%Kerry169
55.8%Bush221
1.5%
R+13.1
R+1.8
R+10.7
396
R
43.5%Gore153
54.8%Bush193
1.7%
R+11.4
R+17.9
R+11.9
352
D
48.0%Clinton168
41.4%Dole145
10.6%
D+6.6
D+1.9
R+1.9
350
D
41.7%Clinton160
37.0%Bush142
21.4%
D+4.7
D+3.9
R+0.9
384
D
50.3%Dukakis185
49.5%Bush182
0.3%
D+0.8
D+21.8
D+8.5
368
R
39.2%Mondale146
60.2%Reagan224
0.5%
R+21.0
D+4.1
R+2.7
372
R
33.7%Carter129
58.7%Reagan225
7.6%
R+25.1
R+32.7
R+15.3
383
D
53.4%Carter189
45.8%Ford162
0.8%
D+7.6
D+7.1
D+5.6
354
D
50.0%McGovern175
49.4%Nixon173
0.6%
D+0.6
R+3.6
D+23.7
350
D
50.0%Humphrey155
45.8%Nixon142
4.2%
D+4.2
R+20.2
D+4.9
310
D
62.4%Johnson194
37.9%Goldwater118
0.0%
D+24.4
D+25.3
D+1.9
311
R
49.6%Kennedy168
50.4%Nixon171
0.0%
R+0.9
D+5.5
R+1.0
339
R
46.8%Stevenson153
53.2%Eisenhower174
0.0%
R+6.4
D+15.4
D+9.0
327
R
39.1%Stevenson131
60.9%Eisenhower204
0.0%
R+21.8
R+33.4
R+11.0
335
D
55.1%Truman152
43.5%Dewey120
1.4%
D+11.6
D+5.3
D+7.1
276
D
52.9%Roosevelt135
46.7%Dewey119
0.4%
D+6.3
R+3.7
R+1.2
255
D
54.8%Roosevelt171
44.9%Willkie140
0.3%
D+9.9
R+23.3
±0.0
312
D
65.4%Roosevelt195
32.2%Landon96
2.3%
D+33.2
D+3.5
D+9.0
298
D
64.0%Roosevelt185
34.3%Hoover99
1.7%
D+29.8
D+47.4
D+12.0
289
R
40.4%Smith108
58.1%Hoover155
1.5%
R+17.6
D+34.5
R+0.1
267
R
8.3%Davis8
60.4%Coolidge58
31.3%
R+52.1
R+9.2
R+26.9
96
R
13.8%Cox29
56.7%Harding119
29.5%
R+42.9
R+42.9
R+16.7
210
O
45.6%Wilson57
45.6%Hughes57
8.8%
Tied
R+51.0
R+3.1
125
D
51.0%Wilson53
0.0%Taft0
49.0%
D+51.0
D+68.8
D+31.4
104
R
37.6%Bryan38
55.4%Taft56
6.9%
R+17.8
D+24.2
R+8.3
101
R
23.9%Parker21
65.9%Roosevelt58
10.2%
R+42.0
R+30.4
R+22.4
88
R
43.0%Bryan37
54.7%McKinley47
2.3%
R+11.6
R+19.6
R+4.1
86
D
53.3%Bryan40
45.3%McKinley34
1.3%
D+8.0
D+44.8
D+14.1
75
R
8.8%Cleveland6
45.6%Harrison31
45.6%
R+36.8
—
R+38.4
68
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current representation
Current officeholders
RCarl PerryState Senate · 3
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+54.1, this sparsely populated district in South Dakota ranks among the most one-sided in the state, reflecting the deep Republican alignment typical of rural northern Plains constituencies.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 51.0 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 52.1 points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 3.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 27.0 points.
A population of 26,595, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,838 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 1 and State Senate District 25.
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 →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
South Dakota 3rd State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46003/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Dakota 3rd State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota 3rd State Senate District voted Republican by 27.0 points (R+27.0), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 363 votes cast, 129 went Democratic and 227 went Republican.
When did South Dakota 3rd State Senate District last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Dakota 3rd State Senate District voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in South Dakota 3rd State Senate District?
South Dakota 3rd State Senate District has a population of 26,595 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota 3rd State Senate District?
Median household income in South Dakota 3rd State Senate District is $64,838 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota 3rd State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Dakota 3rd State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican.
