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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELOLAND) The last time South Dakota had a Democrat as governor, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl with Roger Staubach as quarterback.

South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota and Augustana football were members of the North Central Conference (NCC).

But Gov. Harvey Wollman was not elected, he replaced Democrat Richard Kneip as governor in 1978 and served until Jan. 1, 1979. Wollman was the lieutenant governor when Kneip resigned to be the ambassador to Singapore.

The last elected Democrat governor was Kneip who took office in 1971.

Democrat candidate Jamie Smith who is running for governor in 2022.

Smith announced today he was running a Democrat for governor of South Dakota. Hes a Democratic lawmaker from Sioux Falls in District 15 and is House Minority Leader.

Since 1889, South Dakota has had only five Democrat governors: William J. Bulow, 1927-1931; Thomas M. Berry, 1933 1937; Ralph Herseth, 1959-1961; Richard Kneip, 1971-1978; and Harvey Wollman, 1978-1979.

According to the South Dakota Secretary of State, there are 5,592 registered Democrats and 5,846 registered Republicans in District 15. There are also 6,543 voters registered as Independent or with no party affiliation.

Statewide voter registrations show how hard it could be for a Democrat to get elected governor in South Dakota.

As of Feb. 1, there were 280,125 registered Republicans in South Dakota. There were 152,482 registered Democrats.

As of Feb. 1, there were 152,482 registered Democrats in South Dakota, according to the Secretary of State.

But there were 140,194 who had registered as Independents or with no political party.

Libertarian registrations totaled 2,617 while other affiliations totaled 1,378.

Those total 576,796 total voters.

The state has 63,475 inactive registrations.

Since 2008, the number of registered Democrats has declined while the number of registered Republicans has increased. The state has almost 40,000 more registered Republicans than it did in 2008. There are about 50,000 fewer registered Democrats.

The number of Independents and no party affiliation registered voters is growing. On Sept. 1, 2014, there were less than 100,000 of these registered voters. About eight years later, there are 40,000 more.

The state had 241,528 registered Republicans in the general election of 2008. It had 204,413 registered Democrats. It had a total of 530,462 registered voters.

But registered voters dont always vote that way when it comes to elections. Or not all the members registered in a party vote on election day.

Gov. Kristi Noem won the 2018 election with 51% of the popular vote or 172,912 votes to 47.6% or 161,454 for Democrat Billie Sutton.

Billie Sutton, the 2018 Democrat candidate for South Dakota governor.

As of Nov. 1, 2018, there were 256,496 registered Republicans and 158,968 registered Democrats, according to the SOS office. There were also 126,656 registered as Independents or with no party affiliation.

The Sutton-Noem race did break a trend. The percentage of victor of Noem was the smallest since 1986, when Republican George S. Mickelson beat Democrat Lars Herseth by 3.6 points.

Races from 1986 to 2018 were not that close.

Republican Dennis Daugaard won in 2010 with 61.1% of the vote or 195,024 votes. Democrat Scott Heidepriem received 122,010 votes or 38.5% The state had 235,906 registered Republicans as of Oct. 1, 2010, and 193,304 registered Democrats.

Although a slim majority of South Dakotans who voted elected a female as governor in 2018, female Democratic candidate Susan Wismer was soundly defeated in 2014 by incumbent Daugaard. Daugaard won with 70.5% of the vote to 25.4% for Wismer.

Former South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard. The incumbent Republican won with 70% of the vote in 2014.

Daugaard received 195,477 votes, fewer than the 240,545 number of registered Republicans.

Democrat Gov. Thomas Berry once called a special session to once to legalize 3.2 % alcoholic beer, according to the National Governors Association.

During Gov. Thomas Berrys administration, state property tax was abolished and replaced by a gross income tax. The gross income tax was replaced by the state sales tax.

The Big Bend Dam on the Missouri River was started during Gov. Ralph Herseths time in office. Herseth was also active in developing natural resources in the state.

Kneip consolidated 160 state agencies, boards, and departments into 16 in order to make the executive branch more efficient and responsible, according to the National Governors Association.

Two years after Kneip won the governors race in 1970 with about 55% of the vote, South Dakota voters didnt even choose home-state Democrat candidate George McGovern for president. McGovern received 45.5% of the states vote to winner Republican Richard Nixons 54.2%.

Democrat George McGovern was the partys candidate for president in 1972.

But much like voting for governor, the majority of South Dakotans do not vote for a Democrat for president.

They did in 1964 when the majority voted for Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson over Republican Barry Goldwater.

If there is a Republican candidate, theres more than a good chance South Dakota will vote for that candidate.

South Dakota did vote for Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 for his first and second of four terms.

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Democrats as governor are rare in South Dakota - KELOLAND.com