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 Election results by county.
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| Elections in South Dakota | ||
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The2016 South Dakota Democratic presidential primary was held on June 7 in the U.S. state ofSouth Dakota as one of theDemocratic Party's primaries ahead of the2016 presidential election.
TheDemocratic Party's primaries inCalifornia,Montana,New Jersey andNew Mexico were held the same day, as areRepublican primaries in the same five states, including their ownSouth Dakota primary. Additionally, the Democratic Party heldNorth Dakota caucuses the same day.
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | Others / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official Primary results[2] | June 7, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 51.0% | Bernie Sanders 49.0% | |
| Targeted Persuasion[3] Margin of error: ±3.31% | May 23–24, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 50% | Bernie Sanders 47% | Undecided 3% |
| South Dakota Democratic primary, June 7, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Popular vote | Estimated delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Hillary Clinton | 27,047 | 51.03% | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Bernie Sanders | 25,959 | 48.97% | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Uncommitted | — | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Total | 53,006 | 100% | 20 | 5 | 25 |
| Source:[4][5] | |||||
| County | Clinton | Votes | Sanders | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | 53.19% | 150 | 46.81% | 132 |
| Beadle | 57.32% | 501 | 42.68% | 373 |
| Bennett | 43.79% | 74 | 56.21% | 95 |
| Bon Homme | 53.32% | 225 | 46.68% | 197 |
| Brookings | 51.45% | 955 | 48.55% | 901 |
| Brown | 54.61% | 1,369 | 45.39% | 1,138 |
| Brule | 45.39% | 182 | 54.61% | 219 |
| Buffalo | 60.77% | 110 | 39.23% | 71 |
| Butte | 37.03% | 167 | 62.97% | 284 |
| Campbell | 43.48% | 20 | 56.52% | 26 |
| Charles Mix | 51.40% | 293 | 48.60% | 277 |
| Clark | 56.57% | 112 | 43.43% | 86 |
| Clay | 50.57% | 623 | 49.43% | 609 |
| Codington | 56.21% | 828 | 43.79% | 645 |
| Corson | 43.73% | 115 | 56.27% | 148 |
| Custer | 47.02% | 245 | 52.98% | 276 |
| Davison | 55.19% | 542 | 44.81% | 440 |
| Day | 62.82% | 343 | 37.18% | 203 |
| Deuel | 59.34% | 162 | 40.66% | 111 |
| Dewey | 34.61% | 181 | 65.39% | 342 |
| Douglas | 56.47% | 48 | 43.53% | 37 |
| Edmunds | 52.31% | 170 | 47.69% | 155 |
| Fall River | 40.51% | 207 | 59.49% | 304 |
| Faulk | 52.44% | 86 | 47.56% | 78 |
| Grant | 55.76% | 528 | 44.24% | 419 |
| Gregory | 52.19% | 179 | 47.81% | 164 |
| Haakon | 30.26% | 23 | 69.74% | 53 |
| Hamlin | 59.15% | 181 | 40.85% | 125 |
| Hand | 51.72% | 105 | 48.28% | 98 |
| Hanson | 53.89% | 97 | 46.11% | 83 |
| Harding | 25.93% | 14 | 74.07% | 40 |
| Hughes | 51.92% | 528 | 48.08% | 489 |
| Hutchinson | 54.71% | 151 | 45.29% | 125 |
| Hyde | 60.61% | 40 | 39.39% | 26 |
| Jackson | 46.09% | 59 | 53.91% | 69 |
| Jerauld | 59.63% | 96 | 40.37% | 65 |
| Jones | 39.22% | 20 | 60.78% | 31 |
| Kingsbury | 55.07% | 201 | 44.93% | 164 |
| Lake | 51.49% | 484 | 48.51% | 456 |
| Lawrence | 42.83% | 705 | 57.17% | 941 |
| Lincoln | 55.49% | 1,436 | 44.51% | 1,152 |
| Lyman | 50.00% | 115 | 50.00% | 115 |
| Marshall | 62.94% | 287 | 37.06% | 169 |
| McCook | 61.85% | 214 | 38.15% | 132 |
| McPherson | 50.54% | 47 | 49.46% | 46 |
| Meade | 43.27% | 530 | 56.73% | 695 |
| Mellette | 39.68% | 50 | 60.32% | 76 |
| Miner | 56.48% | 109 | 43.52% | 84 |
| Minnehaha | 53.22% | 6,018 | 46.78% | 5,290 |
| Moody | 55.86% | 262 | 44.14% | 207 |
| Oglala Lakota | 42.54% | 425 | 57.46% | 574 |
| Pennington | 45.85% | 3,384 | 54.15% | 3,996 |
| Perkins | 31.62% | 43 | 68.38% | 93 |
| Potter | 52.21% | 59 | 47.79% | 54 |
| Roberts | 49.68% | 392 | 50.32% | 397 |
| Sanborn | 59.46% | 66 | 40.54% | 45 |
| Spink | 58.47% | 283 | 41.53% | 201 |
| Stanley | 48.22% | 95 | 51.78% | 102 |
| Sully | 42.05% | 37 | 57.95% | 51 |
| Todd | 43.78% | 408 | 56.22% | 524 |
| Tripp | 48.06% | 136 | 51.94% | 147 |
| Turner | 56.59% | 232 | 43.41% | 178 |
| Union | 55.39% | 380 | 44.61% | 306 |
| Walworth | 51.05% | 121 | 48.95% | 116 |
| Yankton | 54.90% | 706 | 45.10% | 580 |
| Ziebach | 41.07% | 92 | 58.93% | 132 |
| Total | 51.03% | 27,047 | 48.97% | 25,959 |
Source:[6]
South Dakota, a predominantly white and rural state in the Great Plains with a significantNative American population, was split near evenly between Clinton and Sanders in terms of geography and delegate count. Secretary Clinton carried the eastern portion of the state, with the exception ofRoberts County in the northeast corner. She edged out Sanders inMinnehaha County, the most populated county and home toSioux Falls.Lincoln County (Canton),Brown County (Aberdeen),Brookings County (Brookings),Codington County, (Watertown),Yankton County (Yankton, South Dakota),Davison County (Mitchell), andHughes County (home to the state capitalPierre), all gave Clinton substantial margins that were enough for her to carry one of the most Republican states in the country.
SenatorBernie Sanders kept the race close by winning the western portion, which is far more rural than the eastern half and tends to vote more Republican in presidential elections. The most populated county in the region and second most populous in the state,Pennington County, home toRapid City, gave Sanders an 8.3% margin over Clinton. Sanders also carried the counties ofOglala Lakota,Jackson, andBennett, which are part of thePine Ridge Indian Reservation. These counties are among the most poverty stricken in the United States (as Sanders tends to do well among voters with low incomes), with the census-designated place ofAllen in Bennett County being considered the poorest municipality in the entire country. Sanders also carried several other Native American reservations including neighboringRosebud Indian Reservation to the east, theCheyenne River Indian Reservation to the north, and its neighborStanding Rock Sioux Reservation, part of which stretches intoNorth Dakota.
Sanders had visited the Pine Ridge reservation in May, where he spoke to residents and was warmly welcomed by Native American tribal leaders, talking about the need to improve health care and education on reservations and maintain tribal sovereignty. Other issues brought up by Sanders including theKeystone Pipeline andfracking, which many Native Americans had expressed opposition towards. Another likely reason for the large amount of Native American support for Sanders was towards a controversial comment Secretary Clinton made in April afterDonald Trump became the presumptive nominee where she stated, "I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak." The remarks were considered offensive by many people, and likely benefitted Sanders (though Clinton appeared to do well among Native Americans inNew Mexico the same day).[7]
