Editor's note: If you cite the results of this poll, credit South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy, per copyright law and our republishing policy.
PIERRE, S.D. – In the final installment of this week's series examining the results of the latest poll sponsored by South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, we look back at the main takeaways and provide an explanation on the methodology.
Alexander Rifaat
Also below are links to those stories and a summary of each as well as the raw numbers gleaned from the poll that offer a glimpse into geographic and demographic differences.
Key findings, links to each story
Here is a recap on the latest poll results:
- U.S. House Rep. Dusty Johnson has pulled ahead in the race to secure the GOP nomination for governor, while the three other candidates – Gov. Larry Rhoden, state House Speaker Jon Hansen and Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden – are in a statistical dead heat for second place. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Marty Jackley and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds are on course to win their contests for the GOP nominations for U.S. House and U.S. Senate, respectively. Read the full story.
- A majority of South Dakotans approve of President Donald Trump's decision to fire former Gov. Kristi Noem from her role as secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. While most South Dakotans approve of the job performance of Rhoden and Rounds, U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune saw his approval rating drop. Read the full story.
- Almost half of respondents disapproved of new tax legislation that will allow counties the option to implement a slight increase in sales taxes in exchange for the lowering of property taxes. A majority of respondents supported local law enforcement cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, new state voter ID laws, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down Trump's tariff policy and for limits to be placed on data centers. Read the full story.
- Most South Dakotans are to some degree unsatisfied with the current state of democracy in the United States. However, a majority believe state public officials are being held accountable at some level and about half of respondents said lawmakers spend either enough time or a great deal of time working on the most pressing issues for the state. Read the full story.
Methodology
The polling, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, ranked as one of the least-biased and most-factual pollsters by Media Bias/Fact Check, was split into two separate scientific surveys.
For the poll on the GOP gubernatorial, U.S. House and U.S. Senate nomination races, Mason-Dixon surveyed 500 registered Republicans between April 7-11. For the polling on job performance, voter sentiment on a number of issues, and thoughts on democracy and accountability, Mason-Dixon surveyed 500 South Dakotans across party affiliation between April 7-9.
"South Dakota voters are poll friendly." — Brad Coker, founder of Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy
The interviews were selected at random from a South Dakota voter registration list that included both land line and cellphone numbers. Quotas were assigned to reflect voter registration by county. For the poll on the GOP races, all respondents indicated they were likely to vote in the upcoming June 2 primary.
"It went smoothly and efficiently, which allowed for it to be completed within an optimum window," Brad Coker, founder of Mason-Dixon, told News Watch. "South Dakota voters are poll friendly."
The process for deciding the topics and drafting the survey questions was a collaborative effort among South Dakota News Watch, the Chiesman Center and Mason-Dixon.
We attempted to cover as many topics as possible without overwhelming respondents and ourselves.
Inevitably, there were some poll questions readers might have wanted that we were unable to get to, such as the job performance of Johnson as congressman or voter sentiment toward the current military conflict with Iran.
We hope you have found the poll results insightful and stay tuned for our next voter survey this fall.
The raw numbers
Here are documents with details of the poll results, which can be downloaded by clicking the arrow:
South Dakota News Watch invests in scientific polls to let elected leaders know how constituents think they're doing and also survey people's opinions on important issues. But a good poll isn't cheap, so if you value these stories, please consider helping cover the cost. Thank you!
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.
