United States 2026 / By state / South Dakota
South Dakota · Midterm elections · 3 November 2026
Who paid to reach South Dakota voters
The Republican side outspent the Democratic side in South Dakota, $573.2K to $57.5K. The costliest race: Governor, at $367.5K. Dusty Johnson was the most-attacked name in the state.
Ads delivered from 4 May 2026 to 4 November 2026 · Results: unofficial count as of 6 November 2026
The races
Each race links to its candidates’ pages, with the unofficial count above its spend. Spend counts every ad about the race, the candidates’ own and outside groups’.
Democratic sideRepublican sideNo side (white figures)
U.S. Senate
Rounds vs Bengs
$62.8K · 188 ads · 16 pages
- Mike Rounds$21.7K own
- Outside groups and others$41.1K
Largest pages
- Mike Rounds$21.7K
- Brian Bengs for South Dakota$14.8K
- South Dakota Conservative PAC$12.3K
Governor
Rhoden vs Ahlers
$367.5K · 794 ads · 25 pages
Largest pages
Other statewide offices
$10.6K · 95 ads · 7 pages
Largest pages
State legislature
$197.6K · 1,778 ads · 106 pages
Largest pages
Ballot measures
- Constitutional Amendment I · Condition Medicaid expansion on federal funding remaining at least 90%FailedYes 44.2% · No 55.8%
- Constitutional Amendment J · Provide that "[an] individual who is not a citizen of the United States is disqualified from voting in any election or upon any question submitted...PassedYes 61.5% · No 38.5%
- Constitutional Amendment K · Establish an unclaimed property trust fundPassedYes 60.9% · No 39.1%
- Constitutional Amendment L · Require a 60% supermajority by voters to approve constitutional amendmentsFailedYes 42.4% · No 57.6%
$71.5K · 477 ads · 21 pages
Largest pages
Local races
$97.2K · 468 ads · 53 pages
Largest pages
U.S. House, district by district
One district with ads. A district is placed only when the ad names it, or the candidate’s FEC record does.
| District | Candidates with ads | Result | Largest page | Ads | Spend | Side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At-large | Marty Jackley, Nicole Gronli | Marty Jackley R 64.0% | James Bialota For Congress | 80 | $18K |
Who paid
The pages that spent the most on South Dakota’s races; spend here is what each page spent in this state.
| # | Advertiser | Side | Race | Ads | Spend | Attack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby DoedenPaid for by Toby Doeden for South Dakota | Rep. | Governor | 121 | $200.3K | 15% |
| 2 | Dusty JohnsonPaid for by Dusty for Governor | Rep. | Governor | 83 | $68.3K | 5.0% |
| 3 | Christine For Sioux Falls | Rep. | Local | 58 | $40K | 0.0% |
| 4 | Jon Hansen for South Dakota Governor. Lems Lt. GovernorPaid for by Jon Hansen for Governor | Rep. | Governor | 379 | $34.8K | 1.2% |
| 5 | Larry RhodenPaid for by Rhoden for Governor | Rep. | Governor | 52 | $29.3K | 24% |
| 6 | South Dakotans for Common Sense | Rep. | Legislature | 22 | $28.7K | 36% |
| 7 | American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network South Dakota - ACS CANPaid for by AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY CANCER ACTION NETWORK INC | None | Ballot measure | 10 | $26.9K | 70% |
| 8 | Mike RoundsPaid for by ROUNDS FOR SENATE | Rep. | Senate | 6 | $21.7K | 33% |
| 9 | South Dakota Conservative ChampionsPaid for by SD Conservative Champions | Rep. | Legislature | 39 | $17.9K | 100% |
| 10 | National Wildlife Federation Action FundPaid for by NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION ACTION FUND | Rep. | Governor | 1 | $17.5K | |
| 11 | Brian Bengs for South Dakota | Dem. | Senate | 143 | $15K | 62% |
| 12 | Vote Yes For L | None | Ballot measure | 188 | $12.9K | 23% |
| 13 | South Dakota Conservative PAC | Rep. | Senate | 12 | $12.3K | 83% |
| 14 | John Hughes for District 13 HousePaid for by John Hughes | None | Legislature | 241 | $11.9K | 0.0% |
| 15 | Government That Works for SDPaid for by Government That Works PAC | Dem. | Local | 3 | $11.4K | |
| 16 | Conservative Principles PAC | Rep. | Legislature | 198 | $10.9K | 58% |
| 17 | South Dakota Republican Party | Rep. | Ballot measure | 117 | $9.6K | 3.4% |
| 18 | Dakota First Action | Rep. | House, at-large | 6 | $8.7K | 100% |
| 19 | Pac'n Heat 2.0 | Dem. | Legislature | 106 | $8K | 97% |
| 20 | Defend American JobsPaid for by Defend American Jobs. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. | Rep. | Senate | 4 | $7.5K | |
| 21 | Concerned Citizens of South Dakota | None | Ballot measure | 111 | $6.9K | 4.5% |
| 22 | SD Property Rights PAC | None | Legislature | 35 | $6.8K | 86% |
| 23 | Don Haggar for PUC | None | Other statewide | 29 | $6.5K | 0.0% |
| 24 | Phillips For SheriffPaid for by Phillips for Sheriff | None | Local | 4 | $6.3K | |
| 25 | Representative Liz May - SD District 27Paid for by Liz May For State House | None | Legislature | 118 | $6.1K | 2.5% |
Every page with ads about South Dakota, with search and the CSV: the advertisers.
Who was attacked
| Target | Attack spend | Mostly by |
|---|---|---|
| Dusty Johnson | $17.2K | Republican side |
| Larry Rhoden | $11.4K | Republican side |
| Christine Erickson | $11.4K | Democratic side |
| Larry Rhoden and Jon Hansen | $9.8K | Republican side |
| Mike Rounds | $6.8K | Democratic side |
| Brian Bengs | $6.3K | Republican side |
| Marty Overweg | $5.9K | Republican side |
| John Carley | $5.3K | No side |
Google and YouTube
Google’s register holds 6,650 election ads from 88 verified advertisers aimed at South Dakota alone since 4 May 2026, worth $1.4–2.4M by Google’s ranges, and 766 more named the state among others. Republican committees and their allies bought the most.
6,650
Google ads aimed at South Dakota alone
$1.4–2.4M
spent, by Google’s ranges
88
verified advertisers
18 / 82
% Dem. / Rep. side, of placed Google spend
| Advertiser | Side | Ads | Google spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toby Doeden for South Dakota | Rep. | 26 | $230.5–295.1K |
| Dusty for Governor | Rep. | 44 | $160.8–205.4K |
| RETIRE CAREER POLITICIANS | Dem. | 9 | $150.8–186K |
| BENGS FOR SOUTH DAKOTA | None | 21 | $128.1–157.7K |
| L No Ballot Measure Committee | None | 12 | $119.2–152.4K |
An ad counts for the state only when its targeting named no other; Google’s state split is cumulative since 2018 and is not used. Spend is a sum of Google’s per-ad ranges; a side comes from the advertiser’s FEC committee, or failing that from a web search of its verified name. No ad text is published, so Google ads are not placed in races.
A state’s page counts ads about its races and measures; the state comes from the ad’s text, page and payer, or the candidate’s FEC record. Ads about no single state are not here. Candidates are those whose FEC committees paid; state and local candidates appear through their pages.