Chris Nelson

Republican Party

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

Tenure

2011 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

15

Prior offices:

South Dakota Secretary of State

Years in office: 2002 - 2011

Successor:Jason Gant (R)

Compensation

Base salary

$128,551

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Appointed

January 1, 2011

Education

High school

White Lake High School

Bachelor's

South Dakota State University, 1987

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Farmer/Rancher

Contact

Official website

Personal LinkedIn

Chris Nelson (Republican Party) is a member of theSouth Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He assumed office on January 8, 2011. His current term ends on January 2, 2029.

Nelson (Republican Party) ran for re-election to theSouth Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He won in the general election onNovember 8, 2022.

Biography

Nelson began his career in public service working as the uniform commercial code supervisor for two years beginning in 1987 and then state election supervisor from 1989 to 2002. Both roles fell under the supervision of theSouth Dakota secretary of state.^[1] After 13 years of service in the secretary of state's office, he was elected secretary of state himself and served in that post for two terms. In October 2009, Nelson announced that he would be challenging state RepresentativesKristi Lynn Noem andBlake Curd for theRepublican nomination in the race for the 2010United States House of Representatives seat.^[2] He failed to receive the party nomination after placing second in the primary contest, garnering nearly thirty-five percent of the vote. After he completed his second term as secretary of state, he was appointed to theSouth Dakota Public Utilities Commission in 2011.^[3]

Nelson has also served in the following roles:

• Member,National Governors Association
• Representative,National Governors Association, United States Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors, 2005.

Education

• White Lake High School
• B.S., Animal science, South Dakota State University (1978)

Political career

Public Service Commission (2011-Present)

Nelson was appointed to theSouth Dakota Public Utilities Commission byGov.Dennis Daugaard on January 8, 2011, to fill a vacancy left when Dusty Johnson left the commission to become Daugaard's chief of staff. He won re-election in 2016.^[3]

Secretary of State (2002-2010)

Nelson is a formerRepublicanSouth Dakota secretary of state, first elected to the statewide position in 2002 and subsequently re-elected to the office in 2006.

Elections

2022

See also: South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election, 2022

General election

General election for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

IncumbentChris Nelson defeatedJeff Barth in the general election for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Nelson (R)	68.7	227,167
	Submit photo	Jeff Barth (D)	31.3	103,384

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	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 330,551
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic convention

Democratic convention for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

Jeff Barth advanced from the Democratic convention for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on July 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Jeff Barth (D)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican convention for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

IncumbentChris Nelson advanced from the Republican convention for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on June 25, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Chris Nelson (R)

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2016

See also:South Dakota Public Service Commission election, 2016

IncumbentChris Nelson defeatedHenry Red Cloud in the South Dakota public utilities commission election.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris NelsonIncumbent	75.38%	268,927
	Democratic	Henry Red Cloud	24.62%	87,841
Total Votes				356,768
Source:South Dakota Secretary of State

Support for the Dakota Access Pipeline

In an interview with KELO radio, Nelson said that he supported the Dakota Access Pipeline, which crosses several rivers in South Dakota and was the source of protests in 2016. Protesters cite environmental concerns over the pipeline, particularly over access to clean water.

The Public Utilities Commission is responsible for approving or disapproving of projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline. Nelson's opponent,Henry Red Cloud (D) said that he opposed all oil pipelines in the state, and said that if he were elected, he would only approve the construction of water pipelines.^[4]

2012

See also:South Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Nelson announced on February 17 that he would seek election to theSouth Dakota Public Utilities Commission in 2012. While terms on the commission are for six years, Nelson was appointed in January 2011 and state election law requires election be held for the remaining four years of the term.^[5] He was officially nominated at the state Republican convention in June.^[6]

Nelson defeated one challenger, DemocratNick Nemec, in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[7]

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Seat 1 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris NelsonIncumbent	67%	226,508
	Democratic	Nick Nemec	33%	111,405
Total Votes				337,913
Election results viaSouth Dakota Secretary of State

2010

2010 Race for United States House of Representatives -Republican Primary[8]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	aKristi Lynn Noem	56.2%
	Republican Party	Chris Nelson	34.6%
	Republican Party	Richard Blake Curd	23.3%
Total Votes			82,041

2006

• 2006 Race for Secretary of State -Republican Primary and General Election

• Chris Nelson ran unopposed in both contests, the first time this has occurred in the state's history.^[9]

South Dakota Secretary of State, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris NelsonIncumbent	100%	217,518
Total Votes				217,518
Election results viaSouth Dakota Secretary of State

2002

• 2002 Race for Secretary of State -Republican Primary

• Chris Nelson ran unopposed in this contest

On November 5, 2002, Chris Nelson won election to the office of South Dakota Secretary of State. He defeated Kate Looby (D) and Alex Martin (L) in the general election.

South Dakota Secretary of State, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Nelson	56.2%	181,571
	Democratic	Kate Looby	41.4%	133,886
	Libertarian	Alex Martin	2.4%	7,878
Total Votes				323,335
Election results viaSouth Dakota Secretary of State.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chris Nelson did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Personal

Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Nelson lives inPierre, South Dakota, with his wife, Penny, and his daughter, Rebekah. He maintains a part-time cattle operation.

Awards

• Excellence inSouth Dakota Municipal Government Award (2003)
• Hazeltine and Taylor Award (2004)
• Election Center’s Professional Practices Program State Award (2009)

See also

2022 Elections

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Newsletters

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External links

Footnotes

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