The 2010 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district, who run on a statewide ballot. On June 8, 2010, the Republicans nominated

Kristi Noem Kristi Lynn Noem (; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019 and a member ...

, Assistant Majority Leader of the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided int ...

and the Democrats nominated the incumbent

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 ...

. In the general election, Noem defeated Herseth Sandlin, winning 48.1 percent of the vote to 45.9 percent for Herseth Sandlin.

Candidates

Democratic

Nominee

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Announced

Potential

*Steve Hildebrand, deputy national campaign director of

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 ...

's 2008 presidential campaign

Republican

Nominee

, Assistant Majority Leader of the

Announced

Blake Curd Richard Blake Curd (born September 19, 1967) is an American politician and a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate representing District 12 since June 6, 2013. Curd served non-consecutively in the South Dakota Legislature from January 2009 ...

, member of the

* Chris Nelson,

Secretary of State of South Dakota The secretary of state of South Dakota is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The current secretary of state is Monae Johnson. Divisions The secretary of state's office is composed of three divisions: *ThBusi ...

, member of the

No longer running

*Thad Wasson, a technician

Declined

Shantel Krebs Shantel Swedlund Krebs (born April 28, 1973) is an American businesswoman and former South Dakota Secretary of State. She previously served in the South Dakota House of Representatives and South Dakota Senate. Early life and education Shantel ...

, member of the South Dakota House of Representatives

Independent

*B. Thomas Marking

Issues

During the general election campaign, Republicans criticized Herseth Sandlin's voting record. They also criticized her lobbyist husband's list of clients, noting that the companies had interests in legislation that would come before Congress. Noem pointed out that the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...

paid Herseth Sandlin's husband,

Max Sandlin Max Allen Sandlin Jr. (born September 29, 1952) is a former Democratic Congressman who served eight years (1997–2005) in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Texas District 1. Early life and career The son of the former Margie Beth ...

, a lobbyist and former Congressman, $320,000 during the years 2008 and 2009 to lobby on their behalf, including a bill co-sponsored by Herseth Sandlin called the Local Radio Freedom Act. Herseth Sandlin responded that Noem's example was "laughable". The ''

Rapid City Journal The ''Rapid City Journal'' (formerly the ''Black Hills Journal'' and the ''Rapid City Daily Journal'') is the daily newspaper of Rapid City, South Dakota. As of 2021, it is the largest newspaper in South Dakota by total subscriptions, according ...

'' editorial board stated that Herseth Sandlin should not be laughing at a legitimate concern. ''

Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...

'' called the Republican effort an attempt "to stoke anti-Beltway emotions". Herseth Sandlin's campaign responded that she did not allow family members to lobby her or her staff. According to a Washington attorney, Herseth Sandlin's policy seemed compliant with House ethics rules that had been tightened in 2007, though Republicans charged Herseth Sandlin was violating the spirit of the conflict interest rules. " The Sunlight Foundation,

Public Citizen Public Citizen is a non-profit, progressive consumer rights advocacy group and think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Lobbying efforts Public Citizen advocates before all three branches of the Unit ...

and other watchdog groups are highly critical of Herseth Sandlin and other Members whose relatives work Congressional corridors", according to ''Roll Call.'' The groups have said the House ethics rules should be comparable to the Senate's rules and should ban all lobbying "under the Dome" by relatives of Members.

Polling

On October 24, 2010,

Nate Silver Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball (see sabermetrics), basketball, and elections (see psephology). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''FiveThirtyEight' ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

FiveThirtyEight.com ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...

blog predicted that there was a 69.9% chance that Noem would defeat Sandlin.

Results

Fundraising

The race saw each candidate spend over $1.75 million and was the first in Herseth Sandlin's career where she was outspent. Funding from political parties and interest groups totaled $2,651,621 for the race, with 78% benefiting Noem. Groups supporting Herseth-Sandlin included the DCCC and CUNA. Noem was supported by the

American Action Network The American Action Network (AAN) is a nonprofit, conservative issue advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., aligned to the Republican Party.Ari NatterAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal Could Cost $93 Trillion, Group Says Bloomberg News ...

, the NRCC and the American Future Fund.

References

External links

Elections
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 ...

2010 South Dakota General Election: Kristi Noem (R) vs Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D)
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
House - South Dakota
from the ''

Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

''
South Dakota - At-Large
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

2010 South Dakota - 1st District
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 combined ...

''
Race profile
at ''

'' ;Debates
Sparks fly in first U.S. House debate (video)
Jonathan Ellis, ''

Argus Leader The ''Argus Leader'' is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Owned by Gannett, it was the state's largest newspaper by total circulation until 2021 when it was surpassed by the ''Rapid City Journal'', according to statistics from the ...

'', August 12, 2010, includes full video (1:29:40) at the Sioux Empire Fair (1st debate)
Kristi Noem says no to school vouchers
Jonathan Ellis, ''

'', August 14, 2010, at the Sioux Empire Fair (2nd debate)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Kristi Noem debate health care legislation
Megan Luther, ''

'', August 18, 2010, includes full video (1:15:31) at Dakotafest (3rd debate) {{United States elections, 2010

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

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 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Candidates

Democratic

Nominee

Announced

Potential

Republican

Nominee

Announced

No longer running

Declined

Independent

Issues

Polling

Results

Fundraising

See also

References

External links