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Different GOP factions see wins, losses in legislative primaries

South DakotaGDELTGDELT event3% biasedWed, Jun 3, 2026, 12:00 AM

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Different GOP factions see wins, losses in legislative primaries.The 2026 South Dakota Republican legislative primary races saw a mix of results with a mix of incumbent and newcomer victories, as well as wins and losses for different factions within the state GOP.Two years ago, the state’s legislative primaries saw a wave of candidates winning on a landowner-rights platform amid pushback against the Summit Carbon Solutions carbon pipeline.This year, the throughline on primary results is less clear.There were 50 competitive legislative primary races in the state Tuesday, and all but one were Republican.Winners in some of these races will go on to face a Democratic or third-party candidate in the November election.However many general election legislative races have no Democratic candidate, meaning the primary race effectively decided the seat.In some of this year’s primary races, candidates who were part of the 2024 landowner rights sweep again found success.In District 18, Lauren Nelson ousted incumbent Jean Hunhoff two years ago running on property rights.Hunhoff returned to face Nelson this election but again lost by a similar margin.It was a similar story in the District 21 Senate GOP primary where Mykala Voita again faced Erin Tobin, who she ousted in 2024.This time, Voita won by a much larger margin – nearly 20 percentage points.But other candidates who rode the landowner rights wave in 2024 lost this time around.In the District 29 House race, Gary Cammack won the seat he lost two years ago, while two candidates who ran on property rights — Terri Jorgenson and Kathy Rice — both lost their seats this time around.Newcomer Gary Deering took the other spot.The landowner rights issue sometimes turned into a broader battle over the state’s role in economic development last legislative session.This bled into the primaries, with some candidates focusing on business and the economy.This strategy appeared successful for some candidates running in more urban districts.In District 3, which includes Aberdeen, three newcomers who all ran heavily on their pro-business merits — Katie Washnok in the Senate, Timothy Hanigan and Spencer Sommers in the House — all won their races.Still, other race results suggest even more complicated factors.District 4, a rural district in northeastern South Dakota, has been the scene of a battle of a proposed data center in Deuel County.Many candidates framed data centers as the focal point of the landowner rights platform this election.In the district’s House race, one incumbent – Kent Roe – supported the data center project.The other incumbent – Dylan Jordan – opposed it.Both lost their seats in Tuesday’s election, though Roe is within the margin to call for a recount.On the Senate side, incumbent Stephanie Sauder, who worked with Roe on pro-data center legislation, won in a narrow victory.That race could also see a recount.Factions within GOP primary races were also muddled by a jumbled gubernatorial primary race.Some legislative candidates endorsed Republican candidates for governor, while others were smeared alongside gubernatorial candidates on ad campaigns prevalent across social media in recent months.There was one Democratic primary.In the District 26 primary, former lawmaker Shawn Bordeaux defeated Troy Lunderman for the district's Democratic nomination.Full election results are available on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website.Results are not yet official.