We’re getting a better idea of the makeup of next year’s Legislature as more results from the election come in.
In District 26 in central South Dakota, Republican Tamara Grove unseated incumbent Democrat Shawn Bordeaux in the Senate race, according to the Secretary of State. That leaves Democrats with just three seats in the state Senate to Republicans' 32 seats.
So far in the House, two seats have switched parties.
Republicans gained a seat in District 28A, where Jana Hunt took over the seat vacated by term-limited Democrat Oren Lesmeister. But Democrats gained a seat in District 32 as Nicole Uhre-Balk ended a long dry spell for her part in the district.
Uhre-Balk attributed her win to the hard work by her campaign.
“We had a great team and, really, I knew door knocking was a really important aspect and just getting out and having those conversations with people, trying to show up to as many events as possible and listen to people as much as possible,” Uhre-Balk said. “And then we did really try to work the social media presence and Google ads and just all the things just to get my name out there and that turned out, I guess, to work.”
Uhre-Balk becomes the third Democrat to get elected from Rapid City in the last 30 years. Her district is seen as more favorable district for Democrats to get elected. It was redistricted to include all of North Rapid City, which was split into four different legislative districts the last time it was drawn.
District 32 was also home to another highly watched race where Republican State Senator Helene Duhamel survived a challenge to her legislative seat. Duhamel fended off a challenge by Independent candidate Karen McNeal.
Duhamel won her race with 60 percent of the vote. She said she’s pleased with the results.
“It is a great honor to serve my city and state,” Duhamel said. “There’s so much important work to do. Including that Missouri River pipeline to western South Dakota and insuring the future of Ellsworth Airforce Base. The campaign is over and now it’s time to get back to work.”
Gov. Kristi Noem appointed Duhamel to the state Senate in late 2019. This is her third campaign victory.
Currently, Republicans control the House by a margin of 94 seats to 11.
Several Sioux Falls-area legislative races are still too close to call. As of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, roughly one-third of Minnehaha County precincts are not yet reporting.
Regardless, there will be dozens of new faces in Pierre this session. At least 30 lawmakers are set to serve their first term, many of whom are Republicans who defeated incumbents in the primary.
All results from the election are unofficial until the vote is canvassed.
