Helene Duhamel (born 1962) is an American politician and journalist serving as a member of the

South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers L ...

from the 32nd district.

Early life and education

A native of

Rapid City, South Dakota 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 ...

, attended St. Martin's Academy. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and international relations from Stanford University in 1984.

Career

After graduating from college, she worked as a news anchor for KDUH in

Scottsbluff, Nebraska Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhand ...

. In 1989, she returned to

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 ...

. Duhamel was appointed to the Senate by Governor

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 ...

in 2019 to fill the vacancy left by Alan Solano. Duhamel had previously served as a television news anchor for

KOTA-TV KOTA-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MeTV affiliate KHME (channel 23) and low-power Fox affiliate KEVN-LD (channel 7). The stati ...

and as the public information office for the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.

Electoral History

In 2020, Duhamel ran for re-election to the South Dakota State Senate to represent District 32; she was unopposed in the Republican primary. Duhamel beat Democratic challenger Michael Calabrese by 64% to 36%. Calabrese was a small business owner and served on the Rapid City Board of Parks and Recreation.

Legislative History

2020 Legislative Session

After her appointment to the State Senate, Duhamel represented District 32 during the 2020 South Dakota Legislative Session. Duhamel also served on the Local Government Interim Committee and as the Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee. In 2020, all four pieces of legislation that Duhamel prime sponsored were passed into law and signed by the Governor

References

Living people 1962 births People from Rapid City, South Dakota Stanford University alumni Republican Party South Dakota state senators 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women television presenters American television news anchors 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists Journalists from South Dakota 20th-century American women {{SouthDakota-politician-stub