Secretary of state race is contentious with three candidates vying for office. Other executive offices, including attorney general, treasurer, auditor, school and public lands and public utilities commission outlined.
Democrat Terrence Davis is trailing closely behind Republican state Rep. Heather Baxter, with a large margin of voters undecided, according to the South Dakota Poll sponsored by News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota.
Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, ranked as one of the least-biased and most-factual pollsters, polled 500 likely voters in an Oct. 12-14 survey.
While voters elect candidates for governor in the primary, political parties choose other state executive candidates.
Constitutional officers are limited to two consecutive, four-year terms. They provide functions of state government like legal representation, election administration, processing of state payments and administering school and public lands. These duties are separate from the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota polled for the secretary of state race. Here are those results:
Secretary of State
Republican Heather Baxter, of Rapid City, is a state legislator for District 34 and a member of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, a far-right, populist group that has pushed for lower taxes, less state spending and, notably for Baxter, election reform. She has called for hand-counting ballots in the state and says that she “echoes (President Donald Trump)’s concerns” about election integrity. On her campaign website, she also says she hopes to “cut through red tape via SD DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) to make government work better for everyday South Dakotans.”
Terrence Davis, a former state trooper in Tennessee and South Dakota, was chosen as Democrats’ secretary of state nominee during the June party convention. Davis is currently employed with East River Legal Services in Sioux Falls and is pursuing a doctoral degree in law and public policy through Liberty University, according to the South Dakota Searchlight.
Tamara Lesnar is running as the state's sole Libertarian candidate for statewide office. She formerly ran for state House in 2024 and for U.S. Senate in 2022, where she lost to incumbent U.S. Sen. John Thune.
Notably, current Secretary of State Monae Johnson, who ran for re-election lost to Baxter in the June Republican primary, endorsed Davis for office in September.
Analysis
Polling for secretary of state shows a closer race than for other offices, with both Davis and Baxter drawing low name recognition numbers.
Julia Hellwege, associate professor of political science at USD in Vermillion, said it's unclear whether that is because of Johnson's unusual endorsement of the Democratic candidate or because the office itself is less high-profile than other statewide races, causing low name recognition and potentially lower turnout.
"I think it's going to be a low turnout race. That should expectedly favor the Republicans, as they have stronger registration numbers. But secretary of state is a lower-knowledge office, and you have two pretty much unknown candidates," Hellwege said.
"You have a combination of most people don't know the name, and so they're not going to vote, and then a contingency of Republicans who don't want to vote for the Democrat but are not in favor of Baxter's nomination, and so they're not going to vote. I think all of that's going to result in that low turnout that still may favor Republicans just by registration numbers."
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Davis fared better among both the youngest and oldest voters than other age demographics, a trend that persists for Democratic candidates in other races. Jon Schaff, professor of government and director of the Center for Public History and Civic Engagement at Northern State University in Aberdeen, said that tendency may not last forever – but it could signal a need for Republicans to shift strategy in some races.
"It's something to look at and go: Is that going to persist over time, this cohort of 16 years that is not nearly as Republican as the general population and that older population of South Dakotans? If I was a Republican in the state, I would look at that and say, 'We've got some work to do,'" Schaff said.
"Republicans have had this luxury for at least 20 years that they can almost run anybody in this state and win. The secretary of state's race this year will probably be indicative of that. But maybe they have to start getting serious and thinking 'Maybe we can't take these victories for granted.'"
Other statewide offices
Here are constitutional and statutory office candidates who will also appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. For background on these positions and more information about the candidates running, see News Watch's comprehensive South Dakota voter guide.
Molly Wetsch
Attorney general
Lance Russell (R), states’ attorney for Fall River and Oglala Lakota counties, is running unopposed and will be the state's next attorney general. South Dakota Democrats did not nominate a candidate for attorney general at their 2026 convention. According to Russell's pre-general campaign finance report, he raised $6,600 and spent over $16,200 since the primary.
Treasurer
Melissa Hull (R), who is from Philip, is the current treasury manager of the South Dakota Treasurer’s Office. Hull raised $24,680 for her campaign since the primary, according to her pre-general campaign finance statement. She has spent almost $22,800 of that.
Margaret Kuipers (D) formerly served as the treasurer of the South Dakota Emergency Medical Services Association. Kuipers raised almost $8,900 and spent $8,500 during her campaign.
Auditor
Catherine Barranco (R), of Sioux Falls, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics and is a former president of the South Dakota Federation of Republican Women. Barranco has raised $52,200 and spent just over $52,000 during her campign, according to her pre-general campaign finance report.
Tom Cool (D), of Sioux Falls, was Democrats' previous nominee for auditor in 2018 and for secretary of state in 2022. Cool raised $4,350 and has spent $3,880 during his campaign.
School and Public Lands
Brock Greenfield (R) has been the commissioner of School and Public Lands since 2022 and is running for re-election. Greenfield raised $9,200 and spent $8,700 from the June primary to the general.
Raeann Mettler (D), of Spearfish, is a former professor at Black Hills State University who holds a PhD in natural sciences. Mettler raised almost $11,500 for her campaign. She spent just over $10,000, according to her pre-general statement.
Public Utilities Commission
Don Haggar (R), of Sioux Falls, served in the South Dakota House of Representatives for several years, representing District 10 and serving as Speaker Pro Tem. Haggar raised $43,750 since June. He's spent over $33,300.
Frank Kloucek (D), of Scotland, was a state representative for District 19 over several terms, beginning in 1991 and ending in 2003. He was re-elected to that position in 2011 and served until 2013, and between 2003 and 2011 served as a state senator. He raised nearly $40,000 and has spent over $23,500 during his campaign, according to campaign finance reporting.
Our polling methods
Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, ranked as one of the least-biased and most-factual pollsters, conducted the poll of 500 registered voters Oct. 12-14 using random selections from a telephone-matched state voter registration list that included both landline and cellphone numbers from across the state. All respondents indicated they were likely to vote in the November general election. The margin for error is no more than ± 4.5 percentage points.
Here are this fall's previous South Dakota Poll stories:
Molly Wetsch
Molly Wetsch
Emily DeCock
Emily DeCock
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, subscribe for free and donate at sdnewswatch.org. Contact reporter/Report for America corps member Molly Wetsch: 605-531-7382/ molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org. Contact reporter Emily DeCock: 605-736-4396/ emily.decock@sdnewswatch.org.
