Noem wins convincing victory to seal second term

Long before ballots counted, Smith concedes after Noem performs far better than in 2018

Gov. Kristi Noem gives a victory speech on Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022 after winning a second term. (Jonathan Ellis/The Dakota Scout)

Gov. Kristi Noem captured a second term Tuesday night, defeating state Rep. Jamie Smith in a race that saw the governor’s campaign flood the airwaves in the final weeks of the contest.

Noem, 50, improved on her narrow 3 percentage point 2018 victory. With all but one of South Dakota’s 687 precincts reporting, she was winning 62 percent to Smith’s 35 percent. Libertarian Tracey Quint had 3 percent.

Smith, 51, jumped into the race acknowledging the tough trail ahead of him. The Sioux Falls Democrat, who serves as the minority leader in the House of Representatives, knew that Democrats hadn’t won the race since 1974.

But he ran as a friendly, outgoing moderate, traveling throughout the state. Still, he didn’t have the type of resources available to him that Democrat Billie Sutton had in the 2018 race.