state senate districtSouth Dakota 17th State Senate District
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004D+2.1
2008D+10.9
2012R+0.3
2016R+9.8
2020R+8.1
2024R+12.6
full record · 1892 → 2024
presidential returns
2024 turnout 37.7% of 20,903 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
3,355
4,349
176
7,879
20,903
37.7%
2020
3,533
4,174
199
7,906
19,236†
41.1%
2016
2,961
3,651
428
7,040
19,033†
37.0%
2012
3,448
3,469
151
7,068
18,607†
38.0%
2008
4,321
3,453
167
7,940
18,182†
43.7%
2004
3,825
3,664
129
7,618
17,758†
42.9%
† 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 17South DakotaUnited States
German34.8%33.1%12.5%
Irish12.4%9.9%9.4%
Norwegian8.9%10.4%—
English7.0%7.7%9.5%
Swedish4.1%2.5%—
American3.7%4.4%5.3%
Danish2.8%0.8%—
Czech1.7%——
Mexican2.9%2.6%11.3%
Spaniard0.4%——
Oglala Sioux0.4%2.0%—
Maya0.4%——
Asian Indian0.9%0.2%1.4%
Chinese0.3%—1.3%
Nepalese0.3%——
Filipino0.2%0.2%0.9%
Vietnamese0.2%—0.6%
African American†0.7%1.1%9.9%
Nigerian0.2%—0.2%
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 17
South Dakota
United States
Median age
31
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
24.1%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.6%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
SD SD 17
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$76,756
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
13.1%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
42.6%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
SD SD 17
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
3.8%
7.1%
22.3%
Spanish
1.0%
2.6%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
SD SD 17
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 17th State Senate District
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−39.7%
1896
−2.6%
1900
−11.8%
1904
−54.2%
1908
−20.3%
1912
+40.4%
1916
+8.9%
1920
−33.7%
1924
−25.6%
1928
−20.4%
1932
+36.3%
1936
+27.9%
1940
−5.8%
1944
−6.4%
1948
−2.1%
1952
−38.4%
1956
−12.4%
1960
−15.4%
1964
+20.0%
1968
−5.2%
1972
+5.7%
1976
+0.7%
1980
−13.5%
1984
−5.6%
1988
+11.9%
1992
+13.8%
1996
+13.2%
2000
−1.6%
2004
+2.1%
2008
+10.9%
2012
−0.3%
2016
−9.8%
2020
−8.1%
2024
−12.6%
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
42.6%Harris3,355
55.2%Trump4,349
2.2%
R+12.6
R+4.5
R+11.1
7,879
R
44.7%Biden3,533
52.8%Trump4,174
2.5%
R+8.1
D+1.7
R+12.6
7,906
R
42.1%Clinton2,961
51.9%Trump3,651
6.1%
R+9.8
R+9.5
R+11.9
7,040
R
48.8%Obama3,448
49.1%Romney3,469
2.1%
R+0.3
R+11.2
R+4.2
7,068
D
54.4%Obama4,321
43.5%McCain3,453
2.1%
D+10.9
D+8.8
D+3.7
7,940
D
50.2%Kerry3,825
48.1%Bush3,664
1.7%
D+2.1
D+3.7
D+4.6
7,618
R
48.1%Gore3,033
49.7%Bush3,132
2.2%
R+1.6
R+14.8
R+2.1
6,305
D
51.2%Clinton3,323
38.0%Dole2,467
10.8%
D+13.2
R+0.6
D+4.7
6,488
D
45.9%Clinton3,135
32.1%Bush2,190
22.1%
D+13.8
D+1.9
D+8.3
6,832
D
55.6%Dukakis3,307
43.7%Bush2,597
0.7%
D+11.9
D+17.5
D+19.7
5,943
R
46.9%Mondale3,044
52.5%Reagan3,406
0.6%
R+5.6
D+7.9
D+12.6
6,492
R
36.0%Carter2,539
49.5%Reagan3,491
14.5%
R+13.5
R+14.2
R+3.8
7,049
D
49.9%Carter3,061
49.2%Ford3,018
1.0%
D+0.7
R+5.0
R+1.4
6,138
D
52.7%McGovern3,255
47.0%Nixon2,902
0.3%
D+5.7
D+10.9
D+28.9
6,174
R
45.6%Humphrey2,386
50.8%Nixon2,658
3.6%
R+5.2
R+25.2
R+4.5
5,234
D
60.0%Johnson3,170
40.0%Goldwater2,114
0.0%
D+20.0
D+35.3
R+2.6
5,284
R
42.3%Kennedy2,394
57.7%Nixon3,263
0.0%
R+15.4
R+3.0
R+15.5
5,657
R
43.8%Stevenson2,440
56.2%Eisenhower3,128
0.0%
R+12.4
D+26.0
D+3.0
5,568
R
30.8%Stevenson1,761
69.2%Eisenhower3,955
0.0%
R+38.4
R+36.2
R+27.6
5,717
R
48.4%Truman2,527
50.6%Dewey2,638
1.0%
R+2.1
D+4.2
R+6.6
5,218
R
46.8%Roosevelt2,228
53.2%Dewey2,531
0.0%
R+6.4
R+0.6
R+13.9
4,759
R
47.1%Roosevelt2,815
52.9%Willkie3,161
0.0%
R+5.8
R+33.7
R+15.7
5,976
D
60.9%Roosevelt3,809
33.0%Landon2,065
6.0%
D+27.9
R+8.4
D+3.6
6,251
D
67.5%Roosevelt3,788
31.2%Hoover1,751
1.3%
D+36.3
D+56.7
D+18.5
5,613
R
39.6%Smith1,979
60.1%Hoover3,000
0.3%
R+20.4
D+5.1
R+3.0
4,993
R
17.6%Davis723
43.2%Coolidge1,771
39.2%
R+25.6
D+8.1
R+0.4
4,100
R
29.5%Cox1,054
63.2%Harding2,260
7.4%
R+33.7
R+42.6
R+7.5
3,578
D
53.6%Wilson1,472
44.7%Hughes1,227
1.7%
D+8.9
R+31.5
D+5.8
2,747
O
40.4%Wilson1,117
0.0%Taft0
59.6%
Roosevelt +19.2
D+60.7
D+20.9
2,765
R
38.5%Bryan1,028
58.8%Taft1,570
2.6%
R+20.3
D+33.9
R+10.8
2,668
R
20.1%Parker562
74.3%Roosevelt2,079
5.6%
R+54.2
R+42.4
R+34.6
2,798
R
43.4%Bryan1,347
55.2%McKinley1,714
1.4%
R+11.8
R+9.2
R+4.3
3,103
R
48.3%Bryan1,415
50.9%McKinley1,492
0.8%
R+2.6
D+37.1
D+3.5
2,931
R
10.5%Cleveland223
50.2%Harrison1,070
39.4%
R+39.7
—
R+41.4
2,132
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current representation
Current officeholders
RSydney DavisState Senate · 17
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
Anchored in Minnehaha County's urban core, this district backed the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee by 27 points — an outlier in a state that trends heavily Republican statewide.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 40.4 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 54.2 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 4.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 12.6 points.
A population of 26,401, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $76,756 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 20 and State Senate District 43.
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 17th State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Dakota 17th State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota 17th State Senate District voted Republican by 12.6 points (R+12.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 7,879 votes cast, 3,355 went Democratic and 4,349 went Republican.
When did South Dakota 17th State Senate District last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Dakota 17th State Senate District voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in South Dakota 17th State Senate District?
South Dakota 17th State Senate District has a population of 26,401 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota 17th State Senate District?
Median household income in South Dakota 17th State Senate District is $76,756 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota 17th State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Dakota 17th State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican.
