The 1990s: A Surprisingly Blue Hue
Entering the 1990s, South Dakota's Senate delegation was split. Republican Larry Pressler, first elected in 1978, was a known quantity. He won re-election in 1990 against Democrat Ted Muenster. But the state's
other seat was held by Democrat Tom Daschle, who had been in the Senate since 1987. The decade saw Democrats not just hold their ground but advance. In 1996, three-term incumbent Pressler was defeated by Democratic Congressman Tim Johnson, a pragmatic politician who proved to have immense staying power. For a time, this gave South Dakota two Democratic senators, a scenario that seems almost impossible in today's political climate. Johnson, who never lost an election in his career, served alongside Daschle, representing a state that was still willing to split tickets and reward moderate Democrats.
The Daschle Era: A Titan of the Senate
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tom Daschle had risen to become one of the most powerful figures in Washington, serving as the Senate Democratic Leader. His position as either Minority or Majority Leader gave South Dakota an outsized influence in national affairs. He was a key player in major policy debates, from farm bills to national security. However, his high profile also made him a high-value target for the national Republican party. While he maintained his connection to the state, his role as a leader of the opposition to a Republican White House began to create a disconnect for some voters back home.
2004: The Race That Changed Everything
The 2004 Senate election was a political earthquake. John Thune, a former congressman who had narrowly lost to Tim Johnson by just 524 votes in 2002, challenged Daschle. The race became one of the most expensive and closely watched in the country. Republicans relentlessly painted Daschle as an obstructionist to President George W. Bush's agenda and out of touch with conservative South Dakota values. The strategy worked. Thune defeated the sitting Senate Minority Leader by a slim margin of about 4,500 votes, a historic upset that hadn't happened to a party leader in over 50 years. The election signaled a fundamental shift; the state's ticket-splitting habit was fading, and its alignment with the national Republican party was solidifying.
The Last Democrat Standing
After Daschle's defeat, Tim Johnson became the last Democrat holding statewide federal office in South Dakota. He continued his career as a relatively low-key, constituent-focused senator. Despite suffering a serious health crisis in 2006, he recovered and overwhelmingly won re-election in 2008, defeating Republican Joel Dykstra by a wide margin. His victory showed that a Democrat could still win, but the ground was shifting. When Johnson announced he would not seek re-election in 2014, it marked the end of an era.
The Modern GOP Stronghold
Since Johnson's retirement, the Republican grip on South Dakota's Senate seats has been absolute. Former Governor Mike Rounds won Johnson's open seat in 2014, defeating a field that included a comeback attempt by former Republican Senator Larry Pressler, who ran as an independent. John Thune, having solidified his own position, rose through the Republican leadership ranks, mirroring the path Daschle once took on the other side of the aisle. With Thune and Rounds consistently winning re-election by comfortable margins, the state has completed its transformation from a place where Democrats could not only compete but lead, to a reliable GOP stronghold in federal elections.
