Partisan Control of the South Dakota State Legislature

The most Republican legislature in state history was elected in 1952 – incredibly, Republicans controlled the Senate 35-0 and the House 73-2, for a cumulate percentage of 98.2%. The state legislature elected in 2024 is the most Republican since then, with 96/105 seats controlled by Republicans (91.4%). That is the most Republicans to serve in the State Legislature since its current size of 105 (30 senators and 70 representatives) was set in 1973.

The most Democratic legislature in state history was elected in 1932, the year of the FDR landslide. Democrats controlled the Senate 29-16 and the House 70-33, holding 66.9% of the seats. (At that time, the Senate had 45 seats and the House had 103; they were reduced to 35 and 75 in 1939).

There are a few other instances where the Republicans did not hold control of the legislature:

• In 1891, the State House had 58 Republicans, 20 Democrats, and 44 Independents, who were a populist party.  The Democrats and Independents joined together to organize the House.
• Likewise in 1897, a Democrat/Populist coalition controlled both houses.  The Senate was 21 R, 2 D, 20 Populist; and the House was 39 R, 10 D, and 35 P.
• Democrats next took control in the aforementioned FDR landslide of 1932.  They controlled both houses in 1933 and 1935.  In the 1937 session, Democrats controlled the Senate and Republicans retook the House.  (Note that, prior to 1963-64, the legislature only met in odd-numbered years.)
• In 1958, Democrats took the Senate 20-15 as Democrat Ralph Herseth won the governor’s office.  Republicans retained control of the House, and in 1960 House Speaker Archie Gubbrud defeated Herseth for reelection.
• In 1973-4, during the Kneip Administration, Democrats controlled the legislature by the narrowest of margins:  An 18-17 margin in the Senate, and a 35-35 tie in the House.  Under House rules, in the case of a tie, the Governor’s party organizes the House.  In 1975-6, Democrats retained control of the Senate, 19-16, but lost the House.
• Finally, in 1993-94, the Democrats won control of the Senate, 20-15, during the final two years of the Mickelson/Miller Administration.

Below are two line graphs, visualizing partisan control of the Senate and House since statehood.  Following those graphs is a chart of partisan control, listed by year and with the governor who was in office for each two-year legislative term.

SESSION	GOVERNOR		SEN			HR
YEAR	NAME	PARTY	REP	DEM	OTH	REP	DEM	OTH
1889	Mellette	REP	37	7	1	106	13	5
1891	Mellette	REP	22	8	13	58	20	44
1893	Sheldon	REP	35	4	4	69	4	10
1895	Sheldon	REP	35	3	5	69	2	13
1897	Lee	POP	21	2	20	39	10	35
1899	Lee	POP	31	4	10	61	9	17
1901	Herreid	REP	39	1	5	79	5	3
1903	Herreid	REP	41	3	1	76	6	5
1905	Elrod	REP	41	2	2	87	2
1907	Crawford	REP	38	7		80	9
1909	Vessey	REP	39	6		95	9
1911	Vessey	REP	33	11	1	99	4	1
1913	Byrne	REP	33	11	1	88	14	1
1915	Byrne	REP	35	10		85	18
1917	Norbeck	REP	35	10		91	12
1919	Norbeck	REP	43	2		90	10	3
1921	McMaster	REP	44	1		94	4	5
1923	McMaster	REP	34	9	2	84	10	9
1925	Gunderson	REP	34	10	1	85	11	7
1927	Bulow	DEM	29	16		81	21	1
1929	Bulow	DEM	33	12		83	20
1931	Green	REP	31	14		79	24
1933	Berry	DEM	16	29		33	70
1935	Berry	DEM	14	31		40	63
1937	Jensen	REP	22	23		66	37
1939	Bushfield	REP	30	5		62	13
1941	Bushfield	REP	31	4		65	10
1943	Sharpe	REP	31	4		69	6
1945	Sharpe	REP	35	0		72	3
1947	Mickelson	REP	35	0		71	4
1949	Mickelson	REP	27	8		64	11
1951	Anderson	REP	29	6		66	9
1953	Anderson	REP	35	0		73	2
1955	Foss	REP	29	6		57	18
1957	Foss	REP	18	17		48	27
1959	Herseth	DEM	15	20		43	32
1961	Gubbrud	REP	23	12		57	18
1963-64	Gubbrud	REP	26	9		58	17
1965-66	Boe	REP	18	16	1	45	30
1967-68	Boe	REP	29	6		64	11
1969-70	Farrar	REP	27	8		59	16
1971-72	Kneip	DEM	24	11		46	29
1973-74	Kneip	DEM	17	18		35	35
1975-76	Kneip	DEM	16	19		37	33
1977-78	Kneip	DEM	24	11		48	22
1979-80	Janklow	REP	24	11		48	22
1981-82	Janklow	REP	25	10		49	21
1983-84	Janklow	REP	26	9		54	16
1985-86	Janklow	REP	25	10		57	13
1987-88	Mickelson	REP	24	11		48	22
1989-90	Mickelson	REP	20	15		46	24
1991-92	Mickelson	REP	18	17		45	25
1993-94	Mickelson/Miller	REP	15	20		41	29
1995-96	Janklow	REP	19	16		46	24
1997-98	Janklow	REP	22	13		48	22
1999-00	Janklow	REP	22	13		51	19
2001-02	Janklow	REP	24	11		50	20
2003-04	Rounds	REP	26	9		49	21
2005-06	Rounds	REP	25	10		51	19
2007-08	Rounds	REP	20	15		50	20
2009-10	Rounds	REP	21	14		45	25
2011-12	Daugaard	REP	30	5		50	19	1
2013-14	Daugaard	REP	28	7		53	17
2015-16	Daugaard	REP	27	8		58	12
2017-18	Daugaard	REP	29	6		60	10
2019-20	Noem	REP	30	5		59	11
2021-22	Noem	REP	32	3		62	8
2023-24	Noem	REP	31	4		63	7
2025-26	Noem/Rhoden	REP	32	3		64	6

The party or coalition controlling each house is designated in bold. The State Legislature began holding annual, rather than biennial, sessions in 1963.

The 1891 House of Representatives was organized by a coalition of Democrats and members of the populist “Independent Party.” In 1897, both the Senate and the House were controlled by a coalition of Democrats and Populists. In 1973-74, the State House was evenly divided at 35-35, and by rule the governor’s party, the Democrats, organized the chamber.