Marcus Mahlen, a Sioux Falls commercial real estate broker and fellow history enthusiast, contributed this interesting post. As a Webster native, he has a particular interest in Gov. Sigurd Anderson, which led him to consider this rare distinction.
In November 2022, Governor Kristi Noem won the South Dakota general election with 217,035 votes, the most in South Dakota history. This is a significant milestone, vaulting Noem into the elite “200k Club” of South Dakota Governors who have received over 200,000 votes in a general election. Noem undoubtedly benefited from significant population growth with her vote count in 2022 – the estimated population in South Dakota in 2022 was about 909,000, an increase of roughly 13,000 people from the previous year. The 200k Club is small, but mighty with only three members, none of them accomplishing it twice.
There were plenty of close calls:
- Dick Kneip – 185,012 votes in 1972 – This is a notable election in that it was Kneip’s second term, and he was quite popular at the time, but also that it was the same year George McGovern was the Presidential nominee, undoubtedly leading to a large get out the vote campaign in South Dakota.
- Bill Janklow – 197,426 votes in 1982
- Mike Rounds – 189,920 votes in 2002
- Dennis Daugaard – 195,017 votes in 2010 – This is notable in that it was Daugaard’s first term, eclipsing the record for a first term governor election count by quite a margin. Rounds’ 2002 vote was also for his first term.
- Dennis Daugaard – 195,477 votes in 2014
Mike Rounds, then Governor, now Senator, received 206,990 votes in the 2006 general election, at the time a state record until Noem eclipsed it in 2022. This earned Rounds the honor of being the second member of the 200k Club. South Dakota’s population was estimated to be around 783,033 in 2006 and albeit slow growth – the state had slowly been growing in population since the late 80’s/early 90’s. That makes it more surprising that it took that long for a Governor to eclipse the 200k mark again. To put into context, the estimated population of South Dakota in 2022 at 909,000 was significantly higher than just 16 years prior in 2006. Another benefit Rounds had was the abortion ban being on the ballot bringing out a strong turnout of the Republican base. Nationally, the Democratic Party was seeing a resurgence at the time with a “blue wave” through Congress, a precursor to 2008 with the election of President Barack Obama.
The first member of the “200k Club”? Enter Sig the Kid.
Sigurd Anderson received 203,102 votes in the 1952 general election, an incredible total with the population at the time and an extremely lopsided victory. Anderson’s 70.2% victory in 1952 was the highest percentage of the vote until Bill Janklow in 1982, exceeding Arthur C. Mellette’s percentage in 1889, the year of statehood. The 1952 election was a peak for the Republican Party in South Dakota with Eisenhower gaining 69% of the vote and the newly elected state legislature consisting of 108 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Sigurd rode that momentum, along with the presidential election to a victory. Interestingly, the high point coincided with a low point for the Democratic Party in the state and shortly thereafter, George McGovern began his work in South Dakota.
SoDak Governors 