2008 United States Senate Election In South Dakota
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The 2008 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4, 2008. Primary elections were held on June 3, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Johnson won re-election to a third term. As of 2022, this election, along with the simultaneous House race, is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota.


Republican primary


Candidates

*
Joel Dykstra Joel D. Dykstra (born February 13, 1958) is an American businessman and politician who served as a Republican member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, who represented the 16th District from 2003 to 2009. His district included Lincoln ...
, South Dakota State Representative * Charles Gonyo * Sam Kephart


Results


General election


Candidates

* Tim Johnson (D), incumbent U.S. Senator * Joel Dykstra (R), South Dakota State Representative


Campaign

Already a well-regarded figure, following health problems, Johnson became more popular. "South Dakota is a very kind state," Steve Jarding, a
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political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
, said. "People were rooting for Tim—Democrats, Republicans, independents—they wanted him to be O.K." He was also seen a pragmatic moderate. He received endorsements from the Republican Mayor of
Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...
,
Dave Munson David R. Munson (born 1942) is an American politician. Munson obtained his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. degree from Sioux Falls College and Master's degree, M.A. degree from Augustana College (South Dakota), Augustana College. For eight and a half yea ...
, and the
NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...
. Dykstra argued that Johnson voted 80% of the time with U.S. Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and 90% with U.S. Senator
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
. In response, Johnson pointed out his votes on the confirmation of
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
justices
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...
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Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
, against
flag burning Flag desecration is the desecration of a flag, violation of flag protocol, or various acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public. In the case of a national flag, such action is often intended to make a political poin ...
, in favor for the
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Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropr ...
, a ban on partial birth abortion, etc. One of the other reasons why Johnson is popular is earmarks. Recent examples include $248,000 for the Dahl Arts Center in
Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
, $11 million for Ellsworth Air Base, $400,000 for Rosebud Sioux Reservation, and $37 million for Mni Wiconi Rural Water System. Dykstra opposed earmarks, leading U.S. Senator
Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...
to campaign with him. In August, Johnson visited 20 cities across the state. With nine reservations in the state, American Indians account for 10% of electorate. In 2002, Johnson carried 94% of the
Oglala Sioux The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live o ...
, the state's biggest tribe.


Predictions


Polling


Results

Johnson easily won re-election to a third term, losing in only four counties. His friend and fellow
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
,
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Stephanie Marie Herseth Sandlin (born December 3, 1970) is an American attorney, university administrator, and politician from the Democratic Party. She served in the United States House of Representatives for from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin was ...
easily won re-election to .


See also

* 2008 United States Senate elections


References


External links


Elections & Voter Registration
from the South Dakota Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for South Dakota
at
Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

South Dakota, U.S. Senate
from
CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combine ...

South Dakota U.S. Senate
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
South Dakota Senate race
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Dykstra (R) vs Johnson (D-i)
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com'' * ''Official campaign websites'' *
Joel Dykstra
Republican nominee *
Tim Johnson
Democratic incumbent nominee {{2008 United States elections
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...