Population (2010) 814,180 Cook PVI R+9 | Median income 47,223 Area 196,541 km² | |
 | ||
Current Representative Kristi Noem (R–Castlewood) Distribution 55.8% urban
44.2% rural Ethnicity 84.7% White
1.2% Black
1.0% Asian
2.7% Hispanic
8.5% Native American
2.0% other | ||
South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District is the sole congressional district for the state of South Dakota. Based on size, it is the fourth largest congressional district in the nation.
Contents
- History
- Democratic primary
- Republican primary
- 2004 special election
- 2004 general election
- List of representatives
- References
The district is currently represented by Republican Kristi Noem.
History
The district was created when South Dakota achieved statehood on November 2, 1889, electing two members At-Large (statewide). Following the 1910 Census a third seat was gained, with the legislature drawing three separate districts. The third district was eliminated after the 1930 Census.
Following the 1980 Census the second seat was eliminated, creating a single At-Large district. Since 1983, South Dakota has retained a single congressional district.
Democratic primary
Hillary Clinton of New York won the June 3, 2008 South Dakota Democratic Primary with 55.35% of the statewide/at-large congressional district vote while Barack Obama of Illinois received 44.65%. The state/at-large congressional district gave Clinton her final win during the course of the historic and heavily drawn-out 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary season.
Republican primary
John McCain of Arizona easily won the June 3, 2008 South Dakota GOP Primary with 70.19% of the statewide/at-large congressional district vote while libertarian-leaning Ron Paul of Texas finished in second place in the state/congressional district with 16.52%.
2004 special election
Incumbent U.S. Representative Bill Janklow resigned the seat January 20, 2004, after he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, triggering a special election. Democrat Stephanie Herseth was selected as the Democratic nominee for this special election and she defeated Republican Larry Diedrich with 51 percent of the vote in a close-fought election on June 1, 2004. Herseth's victory briefly gave the state its first all-Democratic congressional delegation since 1937.
2004 general election
In the November general election, Herseth was elected to a full term with 53.4 percent of the vote, an increase of a few percentage points compared with the even closer June special elections. Herseth's vote margin in June was about 3,000 votes, but by November it had grown to over 29,000.
Herseth thereby became the first woman in state history to win a full term in the U.S. Congress.
Both elections were hard-fought and close compared to many House races in the rest of the United States, and the special election was watched closely by a national audience. The general election was also viewed as one of the most competitive in the country, but was overshadowed in the state by the highly competitive U.S. Senate race between Democrat Tom Daschle and Republican John Thune, which Thune narrowly won.
List of representatives
Two seats were created in 1889. They were changed into three districts in 1913. One at-large seat remained after 1983.