SEARCHLIGHT NEWS
Shane Merrill, chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party, speaks at the party’s election night watch party in downtown Sioux Falls on Nov. 3, 2026. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By John Hult
No Democrat won a statewide race Tuesday in South Dakota, but the party picked up four seats in the Legislature.
Nationally, Democrats racked up historic gains. They retook control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and scored major state-level wins, including the governorship in Texas for the first time since 1994 and Iowa for the first time since 2006.
Democratic gains in the South Dakota Legislature were historic in their own way.
By Makenzie Huber
South Dakota’s general election voter turnout dropped to a historic low Tuesday, with 49% of registered voters casting a ballot.
Turnout is generally lower in non-presidential election years, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office dating to 1964. The state’s previous low for a general election was 52% in 2010.
By Makenzie Huber
Voters in South Dakota’s Brown and Codington counties rejected new half-percent county sales taxes Tuesday, voting down plans their county commissions had proposed to lower homeowners’ property taxes.
COMMENTARY
Attendees at the South Dakota Democratic Party’s election night watch party on Nov. 3, 2026, in downtown Sioux Falls applaud a national news outlet’s call that Democrats won control of the U.S. House. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Seth Tupper
Before Tuesday, it seemed possible there would never again be good news for South Dakota Democrats. Their yearslong slide had shown no signs of abating.
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
Vice President JD Vance spoke May 18, 2026, about the importance of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States at the Milbank Manufacturing company in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector)
By Jacob Fischler
The finger pointing is coming from inside the house.
Vice President JD Vance said in a lengthy social media post Wednesday that Republicans’ shellacking in the midterm elections the night before was mainly due to the administration’s war in Iran.
D.C. NEWS
The election is over. What’s supposed to happen next for Congress? | Jennifer Shutt
Following midterm landslide, Democrats pressed by supporters to deliver on promises | Ashley Murray, Shauneen Miranda
NATIONAL NEWS
Midterm winners include several who made history | Ariana Figueroa
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