Closest gubernatorial primaries

With the 2018 Republican primary for governor one week away, the Argus Leader and Keloland-TV report a dead heat between Congresswoman Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley.  The media outlets’ poll reports a statistical tie: Noem 45%, Jackley 44%.  With only 1% separating the candidates, here is a look at the closest gubernatorial primaries in South Dakota history:

Year	Party	Margin	Winner	%	Runner-up	%
1908	GOP	1.9%	Robert S. Vessey	50.9%	John L. Browne	49.1%
1978	Dem	2.1%	Roger McKellips	49.1%	Harvey Wollman	47.0%
1950	GOP	2.3%	Sigurd Anderson	35.3%	Joe Foss	33.0%
1986	GOP	3.2%	George S. Mickelson	35.3%	Clint Roberts	32.1%
1986	Dem	4.2%	R. Lars Herseth	42.8%	Richard F. Kneip	38.7%
1916	Dem	6.7%	Orville E. Rinehart	53.3%	Edmund D. Morcom	46.7%
1954	Dem	6.9%	Ed C. Martin	53.4%	Ernest F. McKellips	46.6%
1964	GOP	6.9%	Nils Boe	53.5%	Sigurd Anderson	46.5%
1910	GOP	7.2%	Robert S. Vessey	38.7%	George W. Egan	31.5%
1946	Dem	7.8%	Richard Haeder	41.1%	Edward Prchal	33.3%

Note: In 1930, Secretary of State Gladys Pyle finished first in the 1930 Republican gubernatorial primary with 28.3% of the vote, a margin of 1.4% over former governor Carl Gunderson. That would have been the top entry on this list. However, because no candidate received 35%, there was no “winner,” and the nomination was decided at the State Republican Convention. After several deadlocked ballots, delegates selected Warren E. Green, who had finished in 5th place in the primary with 7.4% of the vote.

Likewise, in 1942, State Taxation Director Joe Bottum finished first in the Republican primary with 28.8%, a margin of 3.2% over former Attorney General M. Q. Sharpe. As in 1930, no candidate received 35% and the State Republican Convention selected the nominee. Sharpe prevailed over Bottum and two other candidates. (Thanks to Dr. Eric Ostermeier of the excellent Smart Politics for suggesting that I mention these instances.)