South Dakota Senate

The South Dakota Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district. It meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre.

Composition

99th Legislature (2025)

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |
	Republican	Democratic
92nd Legislature	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|32	3	35
98th Legislature	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|31	4	35
99th Legislature	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|32	3	35
Latest voting share	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|

Officers

Position	Name	Party	District
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Chris Karr	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	11
Majority Leader	Jim Mehlhaff	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	241
Assistant Majority Leader	Carl Perry	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	34
Majority Whips	Randy Deibert	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	31
	Kevin Jensen	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	16
	Sue Peterson	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	13
	Tom Pischke	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican	25
Minority Leader	Liz Larson	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic	10
Assistant Minority Leader	Jamie Smith	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Democratic	15
Minority Whip	None	Template:Party shading/Vacant | N/A

List of current senators

File:SDsenateMakeup.svg

Current makeup of the South Dakota Senate

District	Senator	Party	Since	Residence	Counties represented
1st	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2021	Aberdeen	Brown, Day, Marshall, Roberts
2nd	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Brandon	Brown, Clark, Hamlin, Spink
3rd	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Aberdeen	Brown
4th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Bryant	Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Roberts
5th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Watertown	Codington
6th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Tea	Lincoln
7th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Brookings	Brookings
8th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2020	Madison	Lake, Miner, Moody, Sanborn
9th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Hartford	Minnehaha
10th	Template:Sortname	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"| Democratic	2023	Sioux Falls	Minnehaha
11th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Sioux Falls	Minnehaha
12th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Sioux Falls	Lincoln, Minnehaha
13th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Sioux Falls	Lincoln, Minnehaha
14th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2021	Sioux Falls	Minnehaha
15th	Template:Sortname	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"| Democratic	2025	Sioux Falls	Minnehaha
16th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Canton	Lincoln, Turner, Union
17th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Burbank	Clay, Union
18th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Yankton	Clay, Yankton
19th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2020	Scotland	Bon Homme, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook
20th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Mitchell	Davison, Jerauld, Miner, Sanborn
21st	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Bonesteel	Aurora, Charles Mix, Douglas, Gregory, Tripp
22nd	VacantTemplate:Efn	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican			Beadle, Kingsbury
23rd	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Leola	Brown, Campbell, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, McPherson, Potter, Walworth
24th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Pierre	Hughes, Hyde, Stanley, Sully
25th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Dell Rapids	Minnehaha
26th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Lower Brule	Brule, Buffalo, Hughes, Hyde, Jones, Lyman, Mellette, Todd
27th	Template:Sortname	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"| Democratic	2019	Pine Ridge	Bennett, Haakon, Jackson, Oglala Lakota, Pennington
28th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Prairie City	Butte, Corson, Dewey, Harding, Perkins, Ziebach
29th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Piedmont	Meade
30th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Hot Springs	Custer, Fall River, Pennington
31st	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2023	Spearfish	Lawrence
32nd	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2019	Rapid City	Pennington
33rd	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Rapid City	Meade, Pennington
34th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Rapid City	Pennington
35th	Template:Sortname	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"| Republican	2025	Rapid City	Pennington

Diversity among senators

In 2010, Democrat Angie Buhl became the first openly LGBT person ever elected to the state legislature. She served from 2011–2017.

See also

• South Dakota House of Representatives
• Members of the South Dakota State Senate (1889–present)
• List of South Dakota state legislatures

External links

• Project Vote Smart - State Senate of South Dakota
• South Dakota Senate Roster