state senate districtSouth Dakota 26th State Senate District
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004D+1.8
2008D+5.3
2012R+0.1
2016R+16.4
2020R+9.9
2024R+15.2
full record · 1892 → 2024
presidential returns
2024 turnout 59.1% of 15,389 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
3,735
5,121
233
9,090
15,389
59.1%
2020
4,359
5,341
226
9,925
15,935†
62.3%
2016
3,429
4,884
550
8,863
15,977†
55.5%
2012
4,798
4,805
161
9,763
15,595†
62.6%
2008
5,336
4,787
225
10,348
15,725†
65.8%
2004
5,984
5,771
245
12,000
15,855†
75.7%
† 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 26South DakotaUnited States
Rosebud Sioux30.6%1.1%—
Oglala Sioux1.3%2.0%—
German15.0%33.1%12.5%
American5.5%4.4%5.3%
Irish4.5%9.9%9.4%
Norwegian3.6%10.4%—
English3.3%7.7%9.5%
Czech2.2%——
Dutch1.2%3.4%—
Swedish1.1%2.5%—
Mexican1.2%2.6%11.3%
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 26
South Dakota
United States
Median age
31.7
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
9.0%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.7%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
SD SD 26
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$55,202
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
32.8%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
22.7%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
SD SD 26
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
17.9%
7.1%
22.3%
Other languages
14.9%
1.9%
0.8%
Religious landscape
Measure
SD SD 26
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 26th State Senate District
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−31.0%
1896
+8.6%
1900
−8.1%
1904
−30.8%
1908
−8.1%
1912
+47.4%
1916
+8.6%
1920
−29.3%
1924
−24.2%
1928
−5.6%
1932
+41.4%
1936
+19.9%
1940
−3.6%
1944
−5.4%
1948
+5.0%
1952
−27.5%
1956
−0.6%
1960
−7.2%
1964
+22.5%
1968
−5.9%
1972
−8.1%
1976
+1.4%
1980
−27.8%
1984
−23.6%
1988
−0.3%
1992
−1.4%
1996
+6.3%
2000
−16.6%
2004
+1.8%
2008
+5.3%
2012
−0.1%
2016
−16.4%
2020
−9.9%
2024
−15.2%
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 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle 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
41.1%Harris3,735
56.3%Trump5,121
2.6%
R+15.2
R+5.4
R+13.8
9,090
R
43.9%Biden4,359
53.8%Trump5,341
2.3%
R+9.9
D+6.5
R+14.3
9,925
R
38.7%Clinton3,429
55.1%Trump4,884
6.2%
R+16.4
R+16.3
R+18.5
8,863
R
49.1%Obama4,798
49.2%Romney4,805
1.6%
R+0.1
R+5.4
R+3.9
9,763
D
51.6%Obama5,336
46.3%McCain4,787
2.2%
D+5.3
D+3.5
R+2.0
10,348
D
49.9%Kerry5,984
48.1%Bush5,771
2.0%
D+1.8
D+18.4
D+4.2
12,000
R
40.4%Gore3,262
57.1%Bush4,604
2.5%
R+16.6
R+23.0
R+17.2
8,068
D
48.3%Clinton4,518
41.9%Dole3,924
9.8%
D+6.3
D+7.8
R+2.2
9,358
R
39.1%Clinton3,603
40.5%Bush3,735
20.4%
R+1.4
R+1.1
R+7.0
9,218
R
49.4%Dukakis4,191
49.8%Bush4,219
0.8%
R+0.3
D+23.3
D+7.4
8,478
R
37.9%Mondale3,552
61.5%Reagan5,763
0.6%
R+23.6
D+4.2
R+5.4
9,374
R
32.5%Carter3,288
60.3%Reagan6,103
7.2%
R+27.8
R+29.2
R+18.1
10,119
D
50.3%Carter4,667
48.9%Ford4,536
0.8%
D+1.4
D+9.6
R+0.7
9,276
R
45.7%McGovern4,759
53.9%Nixon5,607
0.4%
R+8.1
R+2.3
D+15.0
10,409
R
43.9%Humphrey4,384
49.8%Nixon4,969
6.3%
R+5.9
R+28.3
R+5.2
9,986
D
61.2%Johnson6,707
38.8%Goldwater4,247
0.0%
D+22.5
D+29.6
R+0.1
10,954
R
46.4%Kennedy4,994
53.6%Nixon5,765
0.0%
R+7.2
R+6.5
R+7.3
10,759
R
49.7%Stevenson5,221
50.3%Eisenhower5,288
0.0%
R+0.6
D+26.9
D+14.8
10,509
R
36.2%Stevenson3,777
63.8%Eisenhower6,647
0.0%
R+27.5
R+32.5
R+16.8
10,424
D
51.9%Truman4,792
46.9%Dewey4,333
1.2%
D+5.0
D+10.4
D+0.5
9,232
R
47.3%Roosevelt3,834
52.7%Dewey4,274
0.0%
R+5.4
R+1.9
R+12.9
8,108
R
48.2%Roosevelt6,256
51.8%Willkie6,717
0.0%
R+3.6
R+23.4
R+13.5
12,973
D
59.1%Roosevelt7,068
39.3%Landon4,693
1.6%
D+19.9
R+21.5
R+4.4
11,955
D
70.0%Roosevelt9,341
28.6%Hoover3,813
1.5%
D+41.4
D+47.0
D+23.6
13,348
R
46.8%Smith5,623
52.4%Hoover6,295
0.8%
R+5.6
D+18.6
D+11.9
12,014
R
21.8%Davis2,318
45.9%Coolidge4,896
32.3%
R+24.2
D+5.1
D+1.0
10,657
R
29.0%Cox1,839
58.3%Harding3,695
12.6%
R+29.3
R+37.9
R+3.1
6,333
D
52.4%Wilson2,755
43.9%Hughes2,304
3.7%
D+8.6
R+38.8
D+5.4
5,253
O
47.4%Wilson2,138
0.0%Taft0
52.6%
Roosevelt +5.3
D+55.5
D+27.8
4,514
R
43.8%Bryan2,148
51.9%Taft2,546
4.3%
R+8.1
D+22.7
D+1.4
4,905
R
32.5%Parker1,016
63.3%Roosevelt1,980
4.3%
R+30.8
R+22.7
R+11.1
3,129
R
45.7%Bryan1,078
53.7%McKinley1,269
0.6%
R+8.1
R+16.7
R+0.5
2,361
D
54.1%Bryan929
45.5%McKinley781
0.5%
D+8.6
D+39.6
D+14.7
1,718
R
15.3%Cleveland233
46.3%Harrison703
38.3%
R+31.0
—
R+32.6
1,518
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current representation
Current officeholders
RTamara GroveState Senate · 26
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
The district recorded a Republican presidential margin of R+15.2 in 2024 and D+5.3 in 2008, switching sides at least once in between. No racial group formed a majority of its residents in the 2024 ACS 5-year, with All other residents at 50%.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 47.4 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 31.0 points in 1892. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 5.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 15.2 points.
A population of 23,354, a 37% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $55,202 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 27 and State Senate District 28.
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 26th State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/46026/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Dakota 26th State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Dakota 26th State Senate District voted Republican by 15.2 points (R+15.2), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 9,090 votes cast, 3,735 went Democratic and 5,121 went Republican.
When did South Dakota 26th State Senate District last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Dakota 26th State Senate District voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in South Dakota 26th State Senate District?
South Dakota 26th State Senate District has a population of 23,354 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Dakota 26th State Senate District?
Median household income in South Dakota 26th State Senate District is $55,202 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of South Dakota 26th State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Dakota 26th State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 23 went Republican.
