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# Fact brief: Did South Dakota voters shift further left in 2026 federal races?
- URL: https://www.sdnewswatch.org/fact-brief-did-south-dakota-voters-shift-left/
- Published: 2026-11-10T10:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-10T10:00:00.000Z
- Description: A look at the final U.S. House vote between Republican Marty Jackley and Nikki Gronli compared to results from two years ago.
- Author: Molly Wetsch
- Tags: Fact briefs

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/ab/cbabab5e-2dc6-462c-94a0-b72956c0d224/content/images/2025/01/WhiteFACT-BRIEF--500-x-200-px--2-1-1.png)

## Yes.

A greater percentage of South Dakota voters voted for federal Democratic candidates in the 2026 general election than in the 2024 general election. 

In the 2024 general election, 72% of South Dakotans voted for Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson in the U.S. House of Representatives, versus 28% for Sheryl Johnson, a Democrat. 

In 2026, 36% of voters voted for Democrat Nikki Gronli in the U.S. House of Representatives race and 64% voted for Republican Marty Jackley.

In 2024, 63% of South Dakota voters cast ballots for President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and 34% cast ballots for Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate. 

Another federal race saw a smaller margin of Republican victory but did not include a Democratic candidate. The U.S. Senate race between Independent Brian Bengs and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican, saw 61% vote for Rounds and 39% vote for Bengs.

ℹ️

This fact brief responds to claims such as [this one](https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthDakota/comments/1xnummi/looking%5Fat%5Fthis%5Fmap%5Fit%5Flooks%5Flike%5Fsd%5Fis%5Fabout%5Fthe/?ref=sdnewswatch.org).

### Sources

South Dakota Secretary of State, [2026 general election results](https://electionresults.sd.gov/resultsSW.aspx?type=SWR&map=CTY&ref=sdnewswatch.org)

South Dakota Secretary of State, [2024 general election results](https://electionresults.sd.gov/resultsSW.aspx?type=SWR&map=CTY&eid=684&ref=sdnewswatch.org)

### About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by South Dakota News Watch as part of the [Gigafact](https://gigafact.org/?ref=sdnewswatch.org) network. Submit a question for us to answer[ on the tipline](https://gigafact.org/tipline/south-dakota-news-watch/?ref=sdnewswatch.org).

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**South Dakota News Watch* is an independent nonprofit. *Read*, *subscribe* for free and *donate* at* [*sdnewswatch.org*](http://sdnewswatch.org/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)*. *Contact* reporter/*[*Report for America*](https://www.reportforamerica.org/?ref=sdnewswatch.org) *corps member Molly Wetsch: 605-531-7382/*[*molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org*](mailto:molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org)*.*