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 County results Thune: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bengs: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2022 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of theUnited States Senate to represent theState of South Dakota. Incumbent three-termRepublican U.S. SenatorJohn Thune, who was theSenate Minority Whip, was first elected in2004, defeatingDemocratic incumbentTom Daschle, the then-Senate Minority Leader. He ran for reelection to a fourth term.[1] TheDemocratic nominee was 26-yearNavy,Air Force JAG Corps veteran, and former college professor Brian Bengs. Thune was ultimately reelected, becoming the first Senator from South Dakota to be elected to a fourth term sinceKarl Mundt in1966, and only the second to do so after Mundt.[2]
On December 23, 2020, then-PresidentDonald Trump said Thune would face a primary challenger after Thune refused to support a challenge of the 2020 Electoral College results,tweeting:[3] "Republicans in the Senate so quickly forget. Right now they would be down 8 seats without my backing them in the last Election.RINO John Thune, 'Mitch's boy', should just let it play out. South Dakota doesn't like weakness. He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!" South Dakota GovernorKristi Noem stated she would not challenge Thune for the seat.[4] On January 1, 2021, Trump tweeted that Noem should challenge Thune in a primary, despite Noem previously saying she would not do so, instead running for re-election as Governorin 2022.[5]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Mark Mowry | John Thune | Bruce Whalen | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota State University[14] | May 2–15, 2022 | – (LV) | ± 3.0% | 4% | 46% | 10% | 41% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Dusty Johnson | Kristi Noem | John Thune | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabrizio Lee (R)[15][A] | January 2022 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 30% | – | 47% | 23% |
| – | 49% | 40% | 10% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Thune (incumbent) | 85,613 | 72.24% | |
| Republican | Bruce Whalen | 24,071 | 20.31% | |
| Republican | Mark Mowry | 8,827 | 7.45% | |
| Total votes | 118,511 | 100.0% | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[22] | Solid R | November 19, 2021 |
| Inside Elections[23] | Solid R | January 7, 2022 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[24] | Safe R | November 3, 2021 |
| Politico[25] | Solid R | April 1, 2022 |
| RCP[26] | Safe R | January 10, 2022 |
| Fox News[27] | Solid R | May 12, 2022 |
| DDHQ[28] | Solid R | July 20, 2022 |
| 538[29] | Solid R | June 30, 2022 |
| The Economist[30] | Safe R | September 7, 2022 |
Organizations
U.S. Senators
Organizations
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | John Thune (R) | Brian Bengs (D) | Tamara Lesnar (L) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota State University[42] | September 28 – October 10, 2022 | 565 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 53% | 28% | – | 20% |
| Lake Research Partners (D)[43] | September 6–11, 2022 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 46% | 33% | 8% | 11% |
| Moore Information Group (R)[44] | March 14–19, 2022 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 59% | 24% | 6% | 11% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Thune (incumbent) | 242,316 | 69.63% | −2.20% | |
| Democratic | Brian Bengs | 91,007 | 26.15% | −2.02% | |
| Libertarian | Tamara Lesnar | 14,697 | 4.22% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 348,020 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| County[45] | John Thune Republican | Brian Bengs Democratic | Tamara Lesnar Libertarian | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Aurora | 978 | 80.56% | 170 | 14.00% | 66 | 5.44% | 808 | 66.56% | 1,214 |
| Beadle | 4,441 | 76.08% | 1,214 | 20.80% | 182 | 3.12% | 3,227 | 55.29% | 5,837 |
| Bennett | 684 | 67.06% | 295 | 28.92% | 41 | 4.02% | 389 | 38.14% | 1,020 |
| Bon Homme | 2,010 | 78.70% | 453 | 17.74% | 91 | 3.56% | 1,557 | 60.96% | 2,554 |
| Brookings | 7,990 | 64.69% | 3,816 | 30.90% | 545 | 4.41% | 4,174 | 33.79% | 12,351 |
| Brown | 9,577 | 68.80% | 3,893 | 27.96% | 451 | 3.24% | 5,684 | 40.83% | 13,921 |
| Brule | 1,573 | 74.98% | 428 | 20.40% | 97 | 4.62% | 1,145 | 54.58% | 2,098 |
| Buffalo | 173 | 44.36% | 202 | 51.79% | 15 | 3.85% | -29 | -7.44% | 390 |
| Butte | 3,269 | 78.62% | 597 | 14.36% | 292 | 7.02% | 2,672 | 64.26% | 4,158 |
| Campbell | 571 | 86.12% | 66 | 9.95% | 26 | 3.92% | 505 | 76.17% | 663 |
| Charles Mix | 2,323 | 75.20% | 666 | 21.56% | 100 | 3.24% | 1,657 | 53.64% | 3,089 |
| Clark | 1,307 | 82.05% | 230 | 14.44% | 56 | 3.52% | 1,077 | 67.61% | 1,593 |
| Clay | 2,522 | 53.51% | 2,042 | 43.33% | 149 | 3.16% | 480 | 10.18% | 4,713 |
| Codington | 8,279 | 75.24% | 2,265 | 20.58% | 460 | 4.18% | 6,014 | 54.65% | 11,004 |
| Corson | 534 | 57.73% | 334 | 36.11% | 57 | 6.16% | 200 | 21.62% | 925 |
| Custer | 3,756 | 74.52% | 1,017 | 20.18% | 267 | 5.30% | 2,739 | 54.35% | 5,040 |
| Davison | 5,420 | 75.17% | 1,524 | 21.14% | 266 | 3.69% | 3,896 | 54.04% | 7,210 |
| Day | 1,796 | 71.44% | 602 | 23.95% | 116 | 4.61% | 1,194 | 47.49% | 2,514 |
| Deuel | 1,548 | 77.95% | 346 | 17.42% | 92 | 4.63% | 1,202 | 60.52% | 1,986 |
| Dewey | 770 | 49.36% | 720 | 46.15% | 70 | 4.49% | 50 | 3.21% | 1,560 |
| Douglas | 1,308 | 89.16% | 117 | 7.98% | 42 | 2.86% | 1,191 | 81.19% | 1,467 |
| Edmunds | 1,385 | 82.10% | 253 | 15.00% | 49 | 2.90% | 1,132 | 67.10% | 1,687 |
| Fall River | 2,754 | 75.64% | 665 | 18.26% | 222 | 6.10% | 2,089 | 57.37% | 3,641 |
| Faulk | 780 | 82.37% | 120 | 12.67% | 47 | 4.96% | 660 | 69.69% | 947 |
| Grant | 2,492 | 77.92% | 601 | 18.79% | 105 | 3.28% | 1,891 | 59.13% | 3,198 |
| Gregory | 1,663 | 82.16% | 279 | 13.78% | 82 | 4.05% | 1,384 | 68.38% | 2,024 |
| Haakon | 864 | 89.07% | 56 | 5.77% | 50 | 5.15% | 808 | 83.30% | 970 |
| Hamlin | 2,214 | 81.91% | 366 | 13.54% | 123 | 4.55% | 1,848 | 68.37% | 2,703 |
| Hand | 1,242 | 82.25% | 198 | 13.11% | 70 | 4.64% | 1,044 | 69.14% | 1,510 |
| Hanson | 1,323 | 81.22% | 254 | 15.59% | 52 | 3.19% | 1,069 | 65.62% | 1,629 |
| Harding | 605 | 90.57% | 22 | 3.29% | 41 | 6.14% | 564 | 84.43% | 668 |
| Hughes | 5,467 | 73.37% | 1,683 | 22.59% | 301 | 4.04% | 3,784 | 50.79% | 7,451 |
| Hutchinson | 2,619 | 83.35% | 417 | 13.27% | 106 | 3.37% | 2,202 | 70.08% | 3,142 |
| Hyde | 484 | 83.45% | 78 | 13.45% | 18 | 3.10% | 406 | 70.00% | 580 |
| Jackson | 617 | 68.63% | 215 | 23.92% | 67 | 7.45% | 402 | 44.72% | 899 |
| Jerauld | 676 | 78.24% | 154 | 17.82% | 34 | 3.94% | 522 | 60.42% | 864 |
| Jones | 383 | 82.37% | 46 | 9.89% | 36 | 7.74% | 337 | 72.47% | 465 |
| Kingsbury | 2,000 | 79.05% | 441 | 17.43% | 89 | 3.52% | 1,559 | 61.62% | 2,530 |
| Lake | 3,615 | 73.51% | 1,139 | 23.16% | 164 | 3.33% | 2,476 | 50.35% | 4,918 |
| Lawrence | 8,439 | 69.48% | 3,061 | 25.20% | 646 | 5.32% | 5,378 | 44.28% | 12,146 |
| Lincoln | 19,703 | 70.42% | 7,365 | 26.32% | 912 | 3.26% | 12,338 | 44.10% | 27,980 |
| Lyman | 944 | 72.67% | 290 | 22.32% | 65 | 5.00% | 654 | 50.35% | 1,299 |
| Marshall | 1,272 | 67.70% | 545 | 29.00% | 62 | 3.30% | 727 | 38.69% | 1,879 |
| McCook | 2,033 | 80.26% | 408 | 16.11% | 92 | 3.63% | 1,625 | 64.15% | 2,533 |
| McPherson | 954 | 86.57% | 108 | 9.80% | 40 | 3.63% | 846 | 76.77% | 1,102 |
| Meade | 8,934 | 75.90% | 2,134 | 18.13% | 702 | 5.96% | 6,800 | 57.77% | 11,770 |
| Mellette | 415 | 66.51% | 165 | 26.44% | 44 | 7.05% | 250 | 40.06% | 624 |
| Miner | 813 | 80.98% | 161 | 16.04% | 30 | 2.99% | 652 | 64.94% | 1,004 |
| Minnehaha | 46,551 | 62.78% | 24,772 | 33.41% | 2,821 | 3.80% | 21,779 | 29.37% | 74,144 |
| Moody | 1,839 | 69.61% | 694 | 26.27% | 109 | 4.13% | 1,145 | 43.34% | 2,642 |
| Oglala Lakota | 422 | 17.30% | 1,889 | 77.42% | 129 | 5.29% | -1,467 | -60.12% | 2,440 |
| Pennington | 30,398 | 67.32% | 12,441 | 27.55% | 2,314 | 5.12% | 17,957 | 39.77% | 45,153 |
| Perkins | 1,141 | 83.35% | 133 | 9.72% | 95 | 6.94% | 1,008 | 73.63% | 1,369 |
| Potter | 937 | 85.73% | 123 | 11.25% | 33 | 3.02% | 814 | 74.47% | 1,093 |
| Roberts | 2,384 | 67.52% | 1,000 | 28.32% | 147 | 4.16% | 1,384 | 39.20% | 3,531 |
| Sanborn | 821 | 81.94% | 154 | 15.37% | 27 | 2.69% | 667 | 66.57% | 1,002 |
| Spink | 2,027 | 76.09% | 546 | 20.50% | 91 | 3.42% | 1,481 | 55.59% | 2,664 |
| Stanley | 1,138 | 78.65% | 245 | 16.93% | 64 | 4.42% | 893 | 61.71% | 1,447 |
| Sully | 622 | 79.44% | 114 | 14.56% | 47 | 6.00% | 508 | 64.88% | 783 |
| Todd | 502 | 26.27% | 1,308 | 68.45% | 101 | 5.29% | -806 | -42.18% | 1,911 |
| Tripp | 1,861 | 83.19% | 263 | 11.76% | 113 | 5.05% | 1,598 | 71.43% | 2,237 |
| Turner | 3,078 | 79.99% | 602 | 15.64% | 168 | 4.37% | 2,476 | 64.35% | 3,848 |
| Union | 4,991 | 74.30% | 1,497 | 22.29% | 229 | 3.41% | 3,494 | 52.02% | 6,717 |
| Walworth | 1,645 | 80.72% | 301 | 14.77% | 92 | 4.51% | 1,344 | 65.95% | 2,038 |
| Yankton | 6,051 | 68.35% | 2,462 | 27.81% | 340 | 3.84% | 3,589 | 40.54% | 8,853 |
| Ziebach | 389 | 57.37% | 242 | 35.69% | 47 | 6.93% | 147 | 21.68% | 678 |
| Totals | 242,316 | 69.63% | 91,007 | 26.15% | 14,697 | 4.22% | 151,309 | 43.48% | 348,020 |
Partisan clients
Official campaign websites (archived)
