state senate districtSouth Dakota 18th State Senate District
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004R+14.4
2008D+0.5
2012R+10.4
2016R+21.7
2020R+20.7
2024R+22.9
full record · 1892 → 2024
presidential returns
2024 turnout 63.3% of 18,637 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
4,388
7,090
323
11,801
18,637
63.3%
2020
4,545
7,001
330
11,876
18,163†
65.4%
2016
3,748
6,020
723
10,491
18,186†
57.7%
2012
4,733
5,862
276
10,870
17,843†
60.9%
2008
5,491
5,432
281
11,204
17,139†
65.4%
2004
4,806
6,464
213
11,482
16,434†
69.9%
† 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 18South DakotaUnited States
German36.6%33.1%12.5%
Irish10.5%9.9%9.4%
Norwegian8.2%10.4%—
English7.6%7.7%9.5%
Czech5.8%——
Danish2.8%0.8%—
Dutch2.7%3.4%—
French2.2%—1.6%
Mexican2.4%2.6%11.3%
Cuban1.2%—0.7%
Spaniard0.4%——
Puerto Rican0.2%0.4%1.8%
Spanish0.2%——
Oglala Sioux1.6%2.0%—
Rosebud Sioux0.7%1.1%—
African American†1.0%1.1%9.9%
Haitian0.3%—0.3%
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 18
South Dakota
United States
Median age
42.6
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
11.2%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
20.4%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
SD SD 18
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$72,660
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
11.9%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
32.8%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
SD SD 18
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
5.5%
7.1%
22.3%
Spanish
3.5%
2.6%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
SD SD 18
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 18th State Senate District
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−43.5%
1896
−3.9%
1900
−12.8%
1904
−43.7%
1908
−18.7%
1912
+43.7%
1916
+1.4%
1920
−33.8%
1924
−22.3%
1928
−4.9%
1932
+46.5%
1936
+22.7%
1940
−14.3%
1944
−15.6%
1948
+0.0%
1952
−37.1%
1956
−15.3%
1960
−14.6%
1964
+8.8%
1968
−16.4%
1972
−5.2%
1976
−0.6%
1980
−28.3%
1984
−25.0%
1988
−3.5%
1992
+1.3%
1996
+0.6%
2000
−13.1%
2004
−14.4%
2008
+0.5%
2012
−10.4%
2016
−21.7%
2020
−20.7%
2024
−22.9%
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, 2008, 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
37.2%Harris4,388
60.1%Trump7,090
2.7%
R+22.9
R+2.2
R+21.4
11,801
R
38.3%Biden4,545
59.0%Trump7,001
2.8%
R+20.7
D+1.0
R+25.1
11,876
R
35.7%Clinton3,748
57.4%Trump6,020
6.9%
R+21.7
R+11.3
R+23.7
10,491
R
43.5%Obama4,733
53.9%Romney5,862
2.5%
R+10.4
R+10.9
R+14.2
10,870
D
49.0%Obama5,491
48.5%McCain5,432
2.5%
D+0.5
D+15.0
R+6.7
11,204
R
41.9%Kerry4,806
56.3%Bush6,464
1.8%
R+14.4
R+1.3
R+12.0
11,482
R
42.1%Gore4,048
55.2%Bush5,309
2.7%
R+13.1
R+13.7
R+13.6
9,615
D
43.8%Clinton4,286
43.2%Dole4,229
12.9%
D+0.6
R+0.8
R+7.9
9,781
D
37.4%Clinton3,889
36.0%Bush3,750
26.6%
D+1.3
D+4.9
R+4.2
10,407
R
47.8%Dukakis4,267
51.3%Bush4,581
1.0%
R+3.5
D+21.5
D+4.2
8,934
R
37.2%Mondale3,397
62.2%Reagan5,685
0.6%
R+25.0
D+3.3
R+6.8
9,141
R
31.4%Carter3,088
59.7%Reagan5,870
8.9%
R+28.3
R+27.7
R+18.6
9,830
R
49.3%Carter4,431
49.8%Ford4,483
0.9%
R+0.6
D+4.7
R+2.6
8,996
R
47.2%McGovern4,319
52.5%Nixon4,797
0.3%
R+5.2
D+11.2
D+17.9
9,142
R
39.2%Humphrey3,077
55.6%Nixon4,362
5.2%
R+16.4
R+25.2
R+15.7
7,844
D
54.4%Johnson4,193
45.6%Goldwater3,517
0.0%
D+8.8
D+23.4
R+13.8
7,709
R
42.7%Kennedy3,383
57.3%Nixon4,540
0.0%
R+14.6
D+0.7
R+14.8
7,923
R
42.4%Stevenson3,317
57.6%Eisenhower4,514
0.0%
R+15.3
D+21.8
D+0.1
7,832
R
31.4%Stevenson2,462
68.6%Eisenhower5,368
0.0%
R+37.1
R+37.2
R+26.4
7,830
D
49.5%Truman3,289
49.5%Dewey3,286
1.0%
D+0.05
D+15.6
R+4.4
6,641
R
42.2%Roosevelt2,667
57.8%Dewey3,651
0.0%
R+15.6
R+1.3
R+23.1
6,318
R
42.9%Roosevelt3,453
57.1%Willkie4,601
0.0%
R+14.3
R+36.9
R+24.2
8,054
D
58.7%Roosevelt4,875
36.0%Landon2,992
5.2%
D+22.7
R+23.8
R+1.6
8,301
D
72.5%Roosevelt5,451
26.0%Hoover1,953
1.6%
D+46.5
D+51.4
D+28.7
7,523
R
47.3%Smith3,093
52.2%Hoover3,412
0.5%
R+4.9
D+17.4
D+12.6
6,535
O
17.8%Davis777
40.1%Coolidge1,747
42.0%
La Follette +1.9
D+11.6
D+2.9
4,355
R
28.0%Cox1,303
61.8%Harding2,878
10.2%
R+33.8
R+35.2
R+7.6
4,656
D
49.5%Wilson1,645
48.2%Hughes1,600
2.3%
D+1.4
R+42.3
R+1.8
3,322
O
43.7%Wilson1,448
0.0%Taft0
56.3%
Roosevelt +12.7
D+62.3
D+24.1
3,317
R
38.5%Bryan1,256
57.2%Taft1,865
4.4%
R+18.7
D+25.1
R+9.1
3,263
R
26.3%Parker850
70.0%Roosevelt2,264
3.7%
R+43.7
R+30.9
R+24.1
3,233
R
43.0%Bryan1,446
55.8%McKinley1,877
1.2%
R+12.8
R+8.9
R+5.3
3,362
R
47.7%Bryan1,512
51.6%McKinley1,635
0.6%
R+3.9
D+39.6
D+2.2
3,167
R
10.4%Cleveland256
53.9%Harrison1,323
35.6%
R+43.5
—
R+45.2
2,453
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current representation
Current officeholders
RLauren NelsonState Senate · 18
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+34.9, this sparsely populated district of roughly 24,000 residents reflects the heavily Republican rural voting patterns that define much of western South Dakota's political landscape.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 46.5 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 43.7 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 2.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 22.9 points.
A population of 24,139, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,660 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 32 and State Senate District 14.
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 18th State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46018/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Dakota 18th State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota 18th State Senate District voted Republican by 22.9 points (R+22.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 11,801 votes cast, 4,388 went Democratic and 7,090 went Republican.
When did South Dakota 18th State Senate District last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Dakota 18th State Senate District voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in South Dakota 18th State Senate District?
South Dakota 18th State Senate District has a population of 24,139 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota 18th State Senate District?
Median household income in South Dakota 18th State Senate District is $72,660 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota 18th State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Dakota 18th State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 24 went Republican.
