ANALYSIS | New Republican lawmakers will decide legislative leadership races

House and Senate poised to move to the right in Friday's elections

(Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

Massive turnover during the 2024 primaries, along with additional shake-ups during the general election Tuesday night, will define the race for top spots in both the State House and Senate.

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Despite enjoying supermajorities in both legislative chambers, the GOP managed to increase its number of seats by one. Outgoing House Minority Leader Oren Lesmeister was term-limited and replaced by Republican Jana Hunt. Hunt, a traveling nurse and rancher from Dupree, fended off a primary challenge from Sen. Ryan Maher in June, and she defeated Democrat Carl Petersen Tuesday.

In southern South Dakota, longtime Democratic lawmaker Shawn Bordeaux lost his Senate seat to Republican Tamara Grove, while Rep. Kameron Nelson was upset by Republican Bobbi Andera in Sioux Falls’ District 10. That district was drawn as majority Democrat after 2020’s redistricting.

The night was not a total loss for Democrats, though. In inner Rapid City’s House District 32, Nicole Uhre-Balk snagged a seat that’s been held by Republicans since 2006. She’ll join incumbent Steve Duffy in the chamber next January.

Those three results set the stage for a take over of both legislative chambers by some of the body’s more conservative members. In the House especially, the chamber swung anywhere from seven to 11 votes to the right since last session, accounting for changes on Tuesday. The Senate was not far behind in that regard.

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