South Dakota statewide elected officials

See separate listings for U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives from South Dakota, Governors of South Dakota, and Lieutenant Governors of South Dakota.

Secretary of State

#	SECRETARY OF STATE	PARTY	TENURE
1	Amund O. Ringsrud	R	1889–1893
2	Thomas Thorson	R	1893–1897
3	William H. Roddle	R	1897–1901
4	O. C. Berg	R	1901–1905
5	David D. Wipf	R	1905–1909
6	Samuel C. Polley	R	1909–1913
7	Frank Glasner	R	1913–1915
8	Frank M. Rood	R	1915–1919
9	C. A. Burkhart¹	R	1919–1922
10	Clarence E. Coyne¹	R	1922–1927
11	Gladys Pyle²	R	1927–1931
12	Elizabeth Coyne	R	1931–1933
13	Myrtle Morrison	D	1933–1937
14	Goldie Wells	D	1937–1939
15	Olive A. Ringsrud	R	1939–1943
16	Mrs. L. M. Larsen	R	1943–1947
17	Annamae Riff	R	1947–1951
18	Geraldine Ostroot	R	1951–1957
19	Clara Halls	R	1957–1959
20	Selma Sandness	D	1959–1961
21	Essie Wiedenman	R	1961–1965
22	Alma Larson	R	1965–1973
23	Lorna Herseth³	D	1973–1979
24	Alice Kundert	R	1979–1987
25	Joyce Hazeltine	R	1987–2003
26	C. A. “Chris” Nelson	R	2003–2011
27	Jason M. Gant	R	2011–2015
28	Shantel S. Krebs	R	2015–2019
29	Steven J. Barnett⁴	R	2019–2022
30	Monae Johnson⁴	R	2022–

Burkhart died in 1922, and Gov. McMaster appointed Coyne to succeed him.
Pyle was the first woman to hold statewide office in South Dakota.
Herseth was a former first lady, as the wife of Gov. Ralph Herseth.
Barnett resigned after the election, shortly before the end of his term. Gov. Noem appointed Johnson, who had been elected to the office, to take office early.

Attorney General

#	ATTORNEY GENERAL	PARTY	TENURE
1	Robert Dollard	R	1889–1893
2	Coe I. Crawford	R	1893–1897
3	Melvin Grigsby	POP	1897–1899
4	John L. Pyle¹	R	1899–1902
5	Adolphus W. Burtt¹	R	1902–1903
6	Philo Hall	R	1903–1907
7	S. Wesley Clark	R	1907–1911
8	Royal C. Johnson	R	1911–1915
9	Clarence C. Caldwell	R	1915–1919
10	Byron S. Payne	R	1919–1923
11	Buell F. Jones	R	1923–1929
12	M. Q. Sharpe	R	1929–1933
13	Walter Conway	D	1933–1937
14	Clair Roddewig	D	1937–1939
15	Leo A. Temmey	R	1939–1943
16	George T. Mickelson	R	1943–1947
17	Sigurd Anderson	R	1947–1951
18	Ralph A. Dunham	R	1951–1955
19	Phil Saunders	R	1955–1959
20	Parnell J. Donahue	D	1959–1961
21	A. C. Miller	R	1961–1963
22	Frank Farrar	R	1963–1969
23	Gordon Mydland	R	1969–1973
24	Kermit Sande	D	1973–1975
25	William J. Janklow	R	1975–1979
26	Mark Meierhenry	R	1979–1987
27	Roger Tellinghuisen	R	1987–1991
28	Mark Barnett	R	1991–2003
29	Lawrence E. Long²	R	2003–2009
30	Marty J. Jackley²	R	2009–2019
31	Jason R. Ravnsborg³	R	2019–2022
32	Mark A. Vargo³	R	2022–2023
33	Marty J. Jackley	R	2023-

Pyle died in 1902, and Gov. Herreid appointed Burtt to succeed him. Pyle was the father of Gladys Pyle, the first woman to serve in statewide office in South Dakota.
Long resigned in 2009 to accept appointment as a circuit court judge, and Gov. Rounds appointed Jackley to succeed him.
Ravnsborg was impeached and removed from office in 2022, and Gov. Noem appointed Vargo to succeed him. Ravnsborg was the first state official to be impeached or to be removed from office.

State Auditor

#	STATE AUDITOR	PARTY	TENURE
1	L. C. Taylor	R	1889–1893
2	John E. Hipple	R	1893–1897
3	H. E. Mayhew	R	1897–1899
4	James D. Reeves	R	1899–1903
5	J. F. Halladay	R	1903–1907
6	John Hirning	R	1907–1911
7	Henry B. Anderson	R	1911–1915
8	J. E. Handlin	R	1915–1919
9	Jay E. Reeves	R	1919–1923
10	Edward A. Jones	R	1923–1929
11	William M. Dunn	R	1929–1933
12	George O’Neill	D	1933–1937
13	Raymond A. Kelly	D	1937–1939
14	W. W. Warner	R	1939–1945
15	Steve Anderson¹	R	1945–1950
16	James O. Gilkerson¹	R	1950–1951
17	Lawrence E. Mayes²	R	1951–1956
18	Fay A. Allbee²	R	1956–1958
19	Oscar Brosz²	R	1958–1959
20	Harriett Horning	D	1959–1961
21	Betty L. Larson Casey	R	1961–1963
22	Al Hamre	R	1963–1967
23	Lloyd Jorgenson	R	1967–1969
24	Alice Kundert	R	1969–1979
25	Vernon L. Larson	R	1979–2003
26	Richard L. Sattgast	R	2003–2011
27	Steven J. Barnett	R	2011–2019
28	Richard L. Sattgast	R	2019–

Anderson resigned in 1950, and Gov. Mickelson appointed Gilkerson to succeed him.
Mayes resigned in 1956, and Gov. Foss appointed Allbee to succeed him. Allbee resigned in 1958, and Gov. Foss appointed Brosz to succeed him.

State Treasurer

#	STATE TREASURER	PARTY	TENURE
1	Wilbur F. Smith	R	1889–1891
2	W. W. Taylor¹	R	1891–1895
3	Kirk G. Phillips	R	1895–1899
4	John Schamber	R	1889–1903
5	C. B. Collins	R	1903–1907
6	C. H. Cassill	R	1907–1909
7	George G. Johnson	R	1909–1913
8	A. W. Ewert	R	1913–1917
9	G. H. Helgerson	R	1917–1921
10	W. S. O’Brien	R	1921–1923
11	James L. Driscoll	R	1923–1927
12	A. J. Moodie	R	1927–1931
13	A. C. Goodhope	R	1931–1933
14	Frank G. Siewert	D	1933–1937
15	W. H. Hinselman	D	1937–1939
16	William G. Douglas²	R	1939–1942
17	John N. Thompson²	R	1942–1943
18	E. V. Youngquist³	R	1943–1945
19	Hazel Dean³	R	1945–1947
20	Clarence E. Buehler	R	1947–1951
21	Theodore Mehlhaf	R	1951–1955
22	Ed Elkins	R	1955–1959
23	Al Hamre	R	1959–1963
24	Lloyd Jorgenson	R	1963–1967
25	Al Hamre	R	1967–1969
26	Neal Strand	R	1969–1973
27	David Volk⁴	R	1973–1990
28	Janis Y. Kelley⁴	R	1990–1991
29	G. Homer Harding	R	1991–1995
30	Richard D. Butler	D	1995–2003
31	Vernon L. Larson	R	2003–2011
32	Richard L. Sattgast	R	2011–2019
33	Joshua R. Haeder	R	2019–

Shortly after leaving office, Taylor was found to have absconded with the state treasury.
Douglas resigned in 1942 after being convicted of embezzlement. Gov. Bushfield appointed Thompson to succeed him.
Youngquist died in 1945, and Gov. Sharpe appointed Dean to succeed him.
Volk resigned in 1990, and Gov. Mickelson appointed Kelley to succeed him.

Commissioner of School and Public Lands

#	COMMISSIONER	PARTY	TENURE
1	Osmer H. Parker	R	1889–1891
2	Thomas H. Ruth	R	1891–1895
3	John L. Lockhart	R	1895–1899
4	David Eastman	R	1899–1903
5	C. J. Bach	R	1903–1907
6	O. C. Dokken	R	1907–1911
7	F. F. Brinker¹	R	1911–1913
8	Fred Hepperle¹	R	1913–1917
9	N. E. Knight	R	1917–1925
10	O. P. J. Engstrom	R	1925–1933
11	Ben Strool	D	1933–1939
12	Earl A. Hammerquist	R	1939–1943
13	John A. Lunden	R	1943–1949
14	Bernard Linn	R	1949–1971
15	Ralph Ginn²	R	1971–1972
16	George D. Kane²	D	1972–1979
17	J. J. “Jack” Gerken	R	1979–1983
18	F. Julian Cheney³	R	1983
19	David Volk³	R	1983–1984
20	J. J. “Jack” Gerken^{3 4}	R	1984
21	Sheldon Cotton⁴	R	1985–1987
22	Timothy Amdahl	R	1987–1991
23	Curtis J. Johnson	D	1991–2003
24	Bryce Healy	D	2003–2007
25	Jarrod Johnson⁵	R	2007–2013
26	Vernon L. Larson⁵	R	2013–2015
27	Ryan L. Brunner⁶	R	2015–2022
28	Jarrod Johnson⁶	R	2022–2023
29	Brock L. Greenfield	R	2023-

Brinker resigned in 1913, and Gov. Byrne appointed Hepperle to succeed him.
Ginn died in 1972, and Gov. Kneip appointed Kane to succeed him.
Cheney died in 1983. Gov. Janklow appointed State Treasurer Volk to simultaneously serve as commissioner, and proposed to merge the offices with a constitutional amendment, which voters rejected by 291 votes. Volk resigned as commissioner in 1984, and Gov. Janklow appointed Gerken to succeed him.
Gerken resigned in 1984, and Gov. Janklow appointed Cotton to succeed him.
Johnson resigned in 2013, and Gov. Daugaard appointed Larson to succeed him.
Brunner resigned in 2022, and Gov. Noem appointed Johnson to succeed him.

Public Utilities Commission

The PUC was originally an appointed, three-person “State Board of Railroad Commissioners.” The board became a statewide elected office beginning in 1897, and its name was changed to its current name in 1939.

#	COMMISSIONER	PARTY	TENURE
1	W. T. LaFollette	POP	1897–1901
	Alexander Kirkpatrick	POP	1897–1903
	William H. Tompkins	POP	1897–1899
4	William G. Smith	R	1899–1917
5	Frank LaCocq Jr.	R	1901–1907
6	D. H. Smith	R	1903–1909
7	George Rice	R	1907–1913
8	F. C. Robinson	R	1909–1915
9	John J. Murphy	R	1913–1943
10	P. W. Dougherty¹	R	1915–1919
11	Frank E. Wells²	R	1917–1919
12	John W. Raish¹	R	1919–1933
13	Dawes E. Brisbine²	R	1919–1935
14	F. S. Pickert	D	1933–1939
15	Windsor Doherty³	D	1935
16	Fred B. Ray³	D	1936
17	C. L. “Roy” Doherty³	R	1936–1971
18	C. A. “Chris” Merkle	R	1939–1969
19	Fred L. Lindekugel	R	1943–1967
20	Harvey Scharn	R	1967–1973
21	Winston Barness	R	1969–1975
22	Jack M. Weiland	D	1971–1977
23	P. K. Ecker	D	1973–1979
24	Norma Klinkel	D	1975–1981
25	Charlotte Fischer	R	1977–1983
26	Kenneth Stofferahn	D	1979–1997
27	Jeff Solem	R	1981–1987
28	Dennis Eisnach	D	1983–1989
29	Laska Schoenfelder⁴	R	1989–2001
30	James A. Burg	D	1987–2005
31	Pamela A. Nelson	D	1997–2003
32	Robert K. Sahr^{4 5}	R	2001–2006
33	Gary W. Hanson	R	2003–
34	Dustin M. Johnson⁶	R	2005–2011
35	Steven Kolbeck^{5 7}	D	2006–2011
36	C. A. “Chris” Nelson⁶	R	2011–
37	Kristie K. Fiegen⁷	R	2011–

Dougherty resigned in 1919, and Gov. Norbeck appointed Raish to succeed him.
Wells resigned in 1919, and Gov. Norbeck appointed Brisbine to succeed him.
Windsor Doherty resigned in 1935, and Gov. Berry appointed Ray to succeed him. Ray served until C. L. “Roy” Doherty won a special election and took office in late 1936.
Schoenfelder died in 2001, and Gov. Janklow appointed Sahr to succeed her.
Sahr resigned after the election, shortly before the end of his term. Gov. Rounds appointed Kolbeck, who had been elected to the seat, to take office early.
Johnson was reelected in 2010, but declined the new term to serve as Gov. Daugaard’s chief of staff. Gov. Daugaard appointed Nelson to succeed Johnson.
Kolbeck resigned in 2011, and Gov. Daugaard appointed Fiegen to succeed him.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

The office of the superintendent of public instruction was included in the State Constitution of 1889, but was abolished by the 1972 revision of the executive article, effective with the term ending in 1975. The office was elected on a nonpartisan ballot beginning in 1938.

#	SUPERINTENDENT	PARTY	TENURE
1	Gilbert L. Pinkham	R	1889–1891
2	Cortez Salmon	R	1891–1895
3	Frank Crane	R	1895–1899
4	E. E. Collins	R	1899–1903
5	George W. Nash	R	1903–1907
6	Hans A. Ustrud	R	1907–1911
7	C. G. Lawrence	R	1911–1915
8	C. H. Lugg	R	1915–1919
9	Fred L. Shaw	R	1919–1925
10	C. G. St. John	R	1925–1929
11	E. C. Giffen	R	1929–1933
12	I. D. Weeks	D	1933–1937
13	J. F. Hines	D/NP	1937–1949
14	Harold S. Freeman	NP	1949–1959
15	M. F. Coddington²	NP	1959–1967
16	Gordon A. Diedtrich²	NP	1967–1971
17	Donald P. Barnhart	NP	1971–1975

Coddington died in 1967, and Gov. Boe appointed Diedtrich to succeed him.

Commissioner of Labor and Statistics

This short-lived office was created in 1890, with Governor Mellette appointed Wilder as the first commissioner until an election could be held. The State Legislature abolished the separately-elected office effective with the term ending in 1897, making it a position subject to gubernatorial appointment.

#	COMMISSIONER	PARTY	TENURE
1	Frank Wilder	R	1890–1891
2	R. A. Smith	R	1891–1893
3	Walter McKay	R	1893–1895
4	S. A. Wheeler	R	1895–1897