South Dakota's congressional delegations
South Dakota has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives since it became a state in 1889,[1] beginning with the 51st United States Congress that year.[2]: 224 Before becoming a state, South Dakota – as part of the larger Dakota Territory – elected a non-voting delegate at-large to Congress from 1861 to 1889.[2]: 165
Each state elects two senators to serve for six years in general elections, with their re-election staggered. Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, South Dakota senators were elected by the South Dakota Legislature; afterwards, senators were elected directly by the people of the state.[3] Each state elects a varying number of, but at least one,[4] member of the House, depending on population, to two-year terms.[5] South Dakota has sent one at-large member to the House since the 1980 United States Census.[6] Currently, South Dakota is represented in the Senate by Mike Rounds and John Thune,[7] and in the House by Dusty Johnson.[8] The first and only woman to serve South Dakota in the House and Senate was Gladys Pyle. Three women have served South Dakota in the House, while two have served in the Senate.[9]
The current dean, or longest-serving member, of the South Dakota delegiation is Republican Senator John Thune, who has served in the Senate since his election in 2004.[10] The longest-serving member of Congress from South Dakota is Karl E. Mundt, who served 34 years combined in the House and Senate.[11]
United States Senate
| Current U.S. senators from South Dakota | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
South Dakota
|
Class II senator | Class III senator | ||
.jpg) Mike Rounds (Junior senator) (Fort Pierre) |
.jpg) John Thune (Senior senator) (Sioux Falls) | |||
| Party | Republican | Republican | ||
| Incumbent since | January 3, 2015 | January 3, 2005 | ||
| Class II senator | Congress | Class III senator | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard F. Pettigrew (R) | 51st (1889–1891) | Gideon C. Moody (R) | ||
| 52nd (1891–1893) | James H. Kyle (I) | |||
| 53rd (1893–1895) | James H. Kyle (Pop) | |||
| 54th (1895–1897) | ||||
| Richard F. Pettigrew (SvR) | 55th (1897–1899) | |||
| 56th (1899–1901) | ||||
| Robert J. Gamble (R) | 57th (1901–1903) | James H. Kyle (R) | ||
| Alfred B. Kittredge (R) | ||||
| 58th (1903–1905) | ||||
| 59th (1905–1907) | ||||
| 60th (1907–1909) | ||||
| 61st (1909–1911) | Coe I. Crawford (R) | |||
| 62nd (1911–1913) | ||||
| Thomas Sterling (R) | 63rd (1913–1915) | |||
| 64th (1915–1917) | Edwin S. Johnson (D) | |||
| 65th (1917–1919) | ||||
| 66th (1919–1921) | ||||
| 67th (1921–1923) | Peter Norbeck (R) | |||
| 68th (1923–1925) | ||||
| William H. McMaster (R) | 69th (1925–1927) | |||
| 70th (1927–1929) | ||||
| 71st (1929–1931) | ||||
| William J. Bulow (D) | 72nd (1931–1933) | |||
| 73rd (1933–1935) | ||||
| 74th (1935–1937) | ||||
| Herbert E. Hitchcock (D) | ||||
| 75th (1937–1939) | ||||
| Gladys Pyle (R) | ||||
| 76th (1939–1941) | Chan Gurney (R) | |||
| 77th (1941–1943) | ||||
| Harlan J. Bushfield (R) | 78th (1943–1945) | |||
| 79th (1945–1947) | ||||
| 80th (1947–1949) | ||||
| Vera C. Bushfield (R) | ||||
| Karl Mundt (R) | ||||
| 81st (1949–1951) | ||||
| 82nd (1951–1953) | Francis Case (R) | |||
| 83rd (1953–1955) | ||||
| 84th (1955–1957) | ||||
| 85th (1957–1959) | ||||
| 86th (1959–1961) | ||||
| 87th (1961–1963) | ||||
| Joe Bottum (R) | ||||
| 88th (1963–1965) | George McGovern (D) | |||
| 89th (1965–1967) | ||||
| 90th (1967–1969) | ||||
| 91st (1969–1971) | ||||
| 92nd (1971–1973) | ||||
| James Abourezk (D) | 93rd (1973–1975) | |||
| 94th (1975–1977) | ||||
| 95th (1977–1979) | ||||
| Larry Pressler (R) | 96th (1979–1981) | |||
| 97th (1981–1983) | James Abdnor (R) | |||
| 98th (1983–1985) | ||||
| 99th (1985–1987) | ||||
| 100th (1987–1989) | Tom Daschle (D) | |||
| 101st (1989–1991) | ||||
| 102nd (1991–1993) | ||||
| 103rd (1993–1995) | ||||
| 104th (1995–1997) | ||||
| Tim Johnson (D) | 105th (1997–1999) | |||
| 106th (1999–2001) | ||||
| 107th (2001–2003) | ||||
| 108th (2003–2005) | ||||
| 109th (2005–2007) | John Thune (R) | |||
| 110th (2007–2009) | ||||
| 111th (2009–2011) | ||||
| 112th (2011–2013) | ||||
| 113th (2013–2015) | ||||
| Mike Rounds (R) | 114th (2015–2017) | |||
| 115th (2017–2019) | ||||
| 116th (2019-2021) | ||||
| 117th (2021-2023) | ||||
| 118th (2023-2025) | ||||
| 119th (2025-2027) | ||||
U.S. House of Representatives
| Current U.S. representatives from South Dakota | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Member (Residence)[13] |
Party | Incumbent since | CPVI (2025)[14] |
District map |
| At-large |  Dusty Johnson (Mitchell) |
Republican | January 3, 2019 | R+15 |  |
1889–1913: elected at-large
| Congress | Elected at-large | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st seat | 2nd seat | |
| 51st (1889–1891) | John Pickler (R) | Oscar S. Gifford (R) |
| 52nd (1891–1893) | John Rankin Gamble (R) | |
| John L. Jolley (R) | ||
| 53rd (1893–1895) | William V. Lucas (R) | |
| 54th (1895–1897) | Robert J. Gamble (R) | |
| 55th (1897–1899) | John Edward Kelley (Pop) | Freeman Knowles (Pop) |
| 56th (1899–1901) | Charles H. Burke (R) | Robert J. Gamble (R) |
| 57th (1901–1903) | Eben Martin (R) | |
| 58th (1903–1905) | ||
| 59th (1905–1907) | ||
| 60th (1907–1909) | Philo Hall (R) | William H. Parker (R) |
| Eben Martin (R) | ||
| 61st (1909–1911) | Charles H. Burke (R) | |
| 62nd (1911–1913) | ||
1913–1983: elected by district
| Congress | 1st district | 2nd district | 3rd district |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63rd (1913–1915) | Charles Hall Dillon (R) | Charles H. Burke (R) | Eben Martin (R) |
| 64th (1915–1917) | Royal C. Johnson (R) | Harry Gandy (D) | |
| 65th (1917–1919) | |||
| 66th (1919–1921) | Charles A. Christopherson (R) | ||
| 67th (1921–1923) | William Williamson (R) | ||
| 68th (1923–1925) | |||
| 69th (1925–1927) | |||
| 70th (1927–1929) | |||
| 71st (1929–1931) | |||
| 72nd (1931–1933) | |||
| 73rd (1933–1935) | Fred H. Hildebrandt (D) | Theodore B. Werner (D) | |
| 74th (1935–1937) | |||
| 75th (1937–1939) | Francis Case (R) | ||
| 76th (1939–1941) | Karl Mundt (R) | ||
| 77th (1941–1943) | |||
| 78th (1943–1945) | |||
| 79th (1945–1947) | |||
| 80th (1947–1949) | |||
| 81st (1949–1951) | Harold Lovre (R) | ||
| 82nd (1951–1953) | E. Y. Berry (R) | ||
| 83rd (1953–1955) | |||
| 84th (1955–1957) | |||
| 85th (1957–1959) | George McGovern (D) | ||
| 86th (1959–1961) | |||
| 87th (1961–1963) | Ben Reifel (R) | ||
| 88th (1963–1965) | |||
| 89th (1965–1967) | |||
| 90th (1967–1969) | |||
| 91st (1969–1971) | |||
| 92nd (1971–1973) | Frank E. Denholm (D) | James Abourezk (D) | |
| 93rd (1973–1975) | James Abdnor (R) | ||
| 94th (1975–1977) | Larry Pressler (R) | ||
| 95th (1977–1979) | |||
| 96th (1979–1981) | Tom Daschle (D) | ||
| 97th (1981–1983) | Clint Roberts (R) |
1983–present: elected at-large
| Congress | At-large seat |
|---|---|
| 98th (1983–1985) | Tom Daschle (D) |
| 99th (1985–1987) | |
| 100th (1987–1989) | Tim Johnson (D) |
| 101st (1989–1991) | |
| 102nd (1991–1993) | |
| 103rd (1993–1995) | |
| 104th (1995–1997) | |
| 105th (1997–1999) | John Thune (R) |
| 106th (1999–2001) | |
| 107th (2001–2003) | |
| 108th (2003–2005) | Bill Janklow (R) |
| Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) | |
| 109th (2005–2007) | |
| 110th (2007–2009) | |
| 111th (2009–2011) | |
| 112th (2011–2013) | Kristi Noem (R) |
| 113th (2013–2015) | |
| 114th (2015–2017) | |
| 115th (2017–2019) | |
| 116th (2019-2021) | Dusty Johnson (R) |
| 117th (2021-2023) | |
| 118th (2023-2025) | |
| 119th (2025-2027) |
Key
| Democratic (D) |
| Populist (Pop) |
| Republican (R) |
| Silver Republican (SvR) |
| Independent (I) |
See also
References
- ↑ "Today in History – November 2". Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on January 18, 2026. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
- 1 2 Biographical directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005: the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 2005. p. 54. ISBN 0-16-073176-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ↑ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. September 15, 2021. Archived from the original on September 30, 2025. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
- ↑ Article I, Section 2, Constitution of United States, 1787
- ↑ "Congressional elections and midterm elections". USA.gov. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ↑ "Historical Apportionment Data (1910–2020)". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. April 26, 2021. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ↑ "States in the Senate | South Dakota Senators". United States Senate. Archived from the original on May 10, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Directory of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on October 12, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
- ↑ "South Dakota". Center for American Women and Politics. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Archived from the original on June 29, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ↑ Tupper, Seth (November 13, 2024). "Thune's political journey comes full circle, 20 years after toppling a leader". South Dakota Searchlight. States Newsroom. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
- ↑ "The Over 25 Club: SD's longest-serving state officials". SoDak Governors. December 30, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ "2025 Cook PVI: State Map and List". Cook Political Report. March 6, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". clerk.house.gov. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ↑ "2025 Cook PVI: District Map and List". The Cook Political Report. April 3, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
