South Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, and elects U.S. senators to Class 2 and Class 3. Its current U.S. senators are Republicans John Thune (since 2005) and Mike Rounds (since 2015). Karl E. Mundt is South Dakota's longest-serving senator (1948–1973).
Class 2 Class 2 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. The next election will be in 2026. |
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Class 3 Class 3 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2004, 2010, 2016, and 2022. The next election will be in 2028. | ||||||||||
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# | Senator | Party | Dates in office | Electoral history | T | T | Electoral history | Dates in office | Party | Senator | # | |
1 | Richard Pettigrew |
Republican | Nov 2, 1889 – Mar 3, 1901 |
Elected in 1889. | 1 | 51st | 1 | Elected in 1889.Lost re-election. | Nov 2, 1889 – Mar 3, 1891 |
Republican | Gideon Moody |
1 |
52nd | 2 | Elected in 1891.[1] | Mar 4, 1891 – Jul 1, 1901 |
Independent | James H. Kyle |
2 | ||||||
53rd | Populist | |||||||||||
Re-elected in 1894.Lost re-election. | 2 | 54th | ||||||||||
Silver Republican |
55th | 3 | Re-elected in 1897.[2]Died. | |||||||||
56th | ||||||||||||
2 | Robert J. Gamble |
Republican | Mar 4, 1901 – Mar 3, 1913 |
Elected in 1901.[3] | 3 | 57th | Republican | |||||
Jul 1, 1901 – Jul 11, 1901 |
Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Kyle's term.Elected in 1903 to finish Kyle's term.[4] | Jul 11, 1901 – Mar 3, 1909 |
Republican | Alfred B. Kittredge |
3 | ||||||||
58th | 4 | Elected to a full term in 1903.[5]Lost renomination. | ||||||||||
59th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1907.Lost renomination. | 4 | 60th | ||||||||||
61st | 5 | Elected in 1909.Lost renomination. | Mar 4, 1909 – Mar 3, 1915 |
Republican | Coe Crawford |
4 | ||||||
62nd | ||||||||||||
3 | Thomas Sterling |
Republican | Mar 4, 1913 – Mar 3, 1925 |
Elected in 1913. | 5 | 63rd | ||||||
64th | 6 | Elected in 1914.Retired. | Mar 4, 1915 – Mar 3, 1921 |
Democratic | Edwin S. Johnson |
5 | ||||||
65th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1918.Lost renomination. | 6 | 66th | ||||||||||
67th | 7 | Elected in 1920. | Mar 4, 1921 – Dec 20, 1936 |
Republican | Peter Norbeck |
6 | ||||||
68th | ||||||||||||
4 | William McMaster |
Republican | Mar 4, 1925 – Mar 3, 1931 |
Elected in 1924.Lost re-election. | 7 | 69th | ||||||
70th | 8 | Re-elected in 1926. | ||||||||||
71st | ||||||||||||
5 | William J. Bulow |
Democratic | Mar 4, 1931 – Jan 3, 1943 |
Elected in 1930. | 8 | 72nd | ||||||
73rd | 9 | Re-elected in 1932.Died. | ||||||||||
74th | ||||||||||||
Dec 20, 1936 – Dec 29, 1936 |
Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Norbeck's term.Lost election to finish Norbeck's term. | Dec 29, 1936 – Nov 8, 1938 |
Democratic | Herbert Hitchcock |
7 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1936.Lost renomination. | 9 | 75th | ||||||||||
Elected to finish Norbeck's term.Retired. | Nov 9, 1938 – Jan 3, 1939 |
Republican | Gladys Pyle |
8 | ||||||||
76th | 10 | Elected in 1938. | Jan 3, 1939 – Jan 3, 1951 |
Republican | John Gurney |
9 | ||||||
77th | ||||||||||||
6 | Harlan Bushfield |
Republican | Jan 3, 1943 – Sep 27, 1948 |
Elected in 1942.Died. | 10 | 78th | ||||||
79th | 11 | Re-elected in 1944.Lost renomination. | ||||||||||
80th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | Sep 27, 1948 – Oct 6, 1948 |
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7 | Vera Bushfield |
Republican | Oct 6, 1948 – Dec 26, 1948 |
Appointed to finish her husband's term.Resigned when successor appointed. | ||||||||
Vacant | Dec 26, 1948 – Dec 31, 1948 |
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8 | Karl Mundt |
Republican | Dec 31, 1948 – Jan 3, 1973 |
Appointed to finish Bushfield's term, having been elected to the next term. | ||||||||
Elected in 1948 | 11 | 81st | ||||||||||
82nd | 12 | Elected in 1950. | Jan 3, 1951 – Jun 22, 1962 |
Republican | Francis Case |
10 | ||||||
83rd | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1954. | 12 | 84th | ||||||||||
85th | 13 | Re-elected in 1956.Died. | ||||||||||
86th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1960. | 13 | 87th | ||||||||||
Jun 22, 1962 – Jul 9, 1962 |
Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to finish Case's term.Lost election to full term. | Jul 9, 1962 – Jan 3, 1963 |
Republican | Joseph H. Bottum |
11 | ||||||||
88th | 14 | Elected in 1962. | Jan 3, 1963 – Jan 3, 1981 |
Democratic | George McGovern |
12 | ||||||
89th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1966.Retired. | 14 | 90th | ||||||||||
91st | 15 | Re-elected in 1968. | ||||||||||
92nd | ||||||||||||
9 | James Abourezk |
Democratic | Jan 3, 1973 – Jan 3, 1979 |
Elected in 1972.Retired. | 15 | 93rd | ||||||
94th | 16 | Re-elected in 1974.Lost re-election. | ||||||||||
95th | ||||||||||||
10 | Larry Pressler |
Republican | Jan 3, 1979 – Jan 3, 1997 |
Elected in 1978. | 16 | 96th | ||||||
97th | 17 | Elected in 1980.Lost re-election. | Jan 3, 1981 – Jan 3, 1987 |
Republican | James Abdnor |
13 | ||||||
98th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1984. | 17 | 99th | ||||||||||
100th | 18 | Elected in 1986. | Jan 3, 1987 – Jan 3, 2005 |
Democratic | Tom Daschle |
14 | ||||||
101st | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1990.Lost re-election. | 18 | 102nd | ||||||||||
103rd | 19 | Re-elected in 1992. | ||||||||||
104th | ||||||||||||
11 | Tim Johnson |
Democratic | Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 2015 |
Elected in 1996. | 19 | 105th | ||||||
106th | 20 | Re-elected in 1998.Lost re-election. | ||||||||||
107th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2002. | 20 | 108th | ||||||||||
109th | 21 | Elected in 2004. | Jan 3, 2005 – Present |
Republican | John Thune |
15 | ||||||
110th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2008.Retired. | 21 | 111th | ||||||||||
112th | 22 | Re-elected in 2010. | ||||||||||
113th | ||||||||||||
12 | Mike Rounds |
Republican | Jan 3, 2015 – Present |
Elected in 2014. | 22 | 114th | ||||||
115th | 23 | Re-elected in 2016. | ||||||||||
116th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2020. | 23 | 117th | ||||||||||
118th | 24 | Re-elected in 2022. | ||||||||||
119th | ||||||||||||
To be determined in the 2026 election. | 24 | 120th | ||||||||||
121st | 25 | To be determined in the 2028 election. | ||||||||||
# | Senator | Party | Years in office | Electoral history | T | T | Electoral history | Years in office | Party | Senator | # | |
Class 2 | Class 3 |
As of December 2022[update], there are four living former U.S. senators from South Dakota. The most recent senator to die was George McGovern (served 1963–1981) on October 21, 2012. The most recently serving senator to die was James Abdnor (served 1981–1987) on May 16, 2012.
Senator | Term of office | Date of birth (and age) |
---|---|---|
James Abourezk | 1973–1979 | February 24, 1931 |
Larry Pressler | 1979–1997 | March 29, 1942 |
Tom Daschle | 1987–2005 | December 9, 1947 |
Tim Johnson | 1997–2015 | December 28, 1946 |
Senator | First served | Last served | Length of service |
---|---|---|---|
Karl E. Mundt | December 31, 1948 | January 3, 1973 | 24 years, 3 days (8,769 days) |
George McGovern | January 3, 1963 | January 3, 1981 | 18 years, 0 days (6,575 days) |
Larry Pressler | January 3, 1979 | January 3, 1997 | 18 years, 0 days (6,575 days) |
Tom Daschle | January 3, 1987 | January 3, 2005 | 18 years, 0 days (6,575 days) |
Tim Johnson | January 3, 1997 | January 3, 2015 | 18 years, 0 days (6,574 days) |
Senator | First served | Last served | Length of service |
---|---|---|---|
Gladys Pyle | November 9, 1938 | January 3, 1939 | 1 month, 3 weeks and 4 days (55 days) |
Vera C. Bushfield | October 6, 1948 | December 26, 1948 | 2 months, 2 weeks and 6 days (81 days) |
Joseph H. Bottum | July 9, 1962 | January 3, 1963 | 5 months, 3 weeks and 4 days (178 days) |
Gideon C. Moody | November 2, 1889 | March 3, 1891 | 1 year, 4 months and 1 day (486 days) |
Herbert E. Hitchcock | December 29, 1936 | November 8, 1938 | 1 year, 10 months, 1 week and 3 days (679 days) |
Senator | Date of birth | First served | Age |
---|---|---|---|
Larry Pressler | March 29, 1942 | January 3, 1979 | 36 years, 9 months and 5 days |
James H. Kyle | February 24, 1854 | March 4, 1891 | 37 years and 8 days |
Tom Daschle | December 9, 1947 | January 3, 1987 | 39 years and 25 days |
Alfred B. Kittredge | March 28, 1861 | July 11, 1901 | 40 years, 3 months and 13 days |
George McGovern | July 19, 1922 | January 3, 1963 | 40 years, 5 months and 15 days |
Senator | Date of birth | Last served | Age |
---|---|---|---|
Thomas Sterling | February 21, 1851 | March 3, 1925 | 74 years and 10 days |
William J. Bulow | January 13, 1869 | January 3, 1943 | 73 years, 11 months and 21 days |
Karl E. Mundt | June 3, 1900 | January 3, 1973 | 72 years and 7 months |
Herbert E. Hitchcock | August 22, 1867 | November 8, 1938 | 71 years, 2 months and 17 days |
Tim Johnson | December 28, 1946 | January 3, 2015 | 68 years and 6 days |