2010 South Dakota gubernatorial election explained

The 2010 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of South Dakota to a four-year term. Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Rounds was ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits.

Republican candidate Dennis Daugaard was elected, defeating Democratic candidate Scott Heidepriem.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Dennis Daugaard, Lieutenant Governor^[1]
• Gordon Howie, State Senator
• Dave Knudson, State Senate Majority Leader^{[1] [2]}
• Ken Knuppe, rancher^[3]
• Scott Munsterman, former mayor of Brookings^[4]

Results

Democratic primary

Candidate

• Scott Heidepriem, State Senate Minority Leader^[5]

Results

Heidepriem faced no opposition in the Democratic primary.

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report[6]		October 14, 2010
Rothenberg[7]		October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics[8]		November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[9]		October 28, 2010
CQ Politics[10]		October 28, 2010

Polling

width='140'	Poll source	width='140'	Dates administered	width='140'	Dennis Daugaard (R)	width='140'	Scott Heidepriem (D)
Nielson Brothers Polling[11]	October 20–22, 2010	align=center	43%	40%
Rasmussen Reports[12]	October 20, 2010	align=center	55%	36%
Rasmussen Reports	October 9, 2010	align=center	57%	37%
Rasmussen Reports	September 8, 2010	align=center	57%	28%
Rasmussen Reports[13]	August 3, 2010	align=center	59%	27%
Rasmussen Reports[14]	July 6, 2010	align=center	52%	35%
Rasmussen Reports[15]	June 10, 2010	align=center	52%	36%
Rasmussen Reports[16]	May 26, 2010	align=center	51%	36%
Rasmussen Reports[17]	April 21, 2010	align=center	53%	33%
Rasmussen Reports	March 25, 2010	align=center	49%	32%
Rasmussen Reports[18]	February 23, 2010	align=center	41%	32%
Public Policy Polling[19]	December 10–13, 2009	align=center	42%	29%

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Day (largest city: Webster)
• Roberts (largest city: Sisseton)
• Ziebach (largest city: Dupree)
• Corson (Largest city: McLaughlin)
• Dewey (Largest city: North Eagle Butte)

External links

• Elections & Voter Registration at South Dakota Secretary of State
• Candidates for South Dakota State Offices at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions for 2010 South Dakota Governor from Follow the Money
• South Dakota Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
• 2010 South Dakota General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Election 2010: South Dakota Governor from Rasmussen Reports
• 2010 South Dakota Governor – Daugaard vs. Heidepriem from Real Clear Politics
• 2010 South Dakota Governor's Race from CQ Politics
• Race Profile in The New York Times

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Dennis Daugaard
• Scott Heidepriem
• Gordon Howie
• Dave Knudson
• Ken Knuppe
• Scott Munsterman

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dave Knudson will run for governor. December 23, 2008. January 12, 2009. NewsOK. Chet. Brokaw.
2. Web site: Sen. Dave Knudson will run for governor. December 23, 2008. January 12, 2009. KXNet.com.
3. Drew Sandholm. "INTERVIEW: Ken Knuppe On Education", ABC News affiliate KSFY-TV. July 3, 2009.
4. Web site: Howie outlines conservative agenda for governor's campaign . Rapid City Journal . January 7, 2010 . February 3, 2010 . Kevin Woster.
5. Emily Caldei Heidepriem Fills Party's South Dakota Gov Gap . July 28, 2009. Eye on 2010 Blog, CQPolitics.com
6. Web site: 2010 Governors Race Ratings . https://web.archive.org/web/20101028141343/http://cookpolitical.com/charts/governors/raceratings_2010-10-14_12-35-09.php . dead . October 28, 2010 . . October 28, 2010.
7. Web site: Governor Ratings . . October 28, 2010.
8. Web site: 2010 Governor Races . . October 28, 2010.
9. Web site: THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS . . October 28, 2010.
10. Web site: Race Ratings Chart: Governor . . October 28, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101005231611/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=ratings-governor . October 5, 2010 .
11. https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/47076/ Nielson Brothers Polling
12. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/election_2010_south_dakota_governor/ Rasmussen Reports
13. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/toplines/toplines_south_dakota_governor_august_3_2010/ Rasmussen Reports
14. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/toplines/toplines_south_dakota_governor_july_6_2010/ Rasmussen Reports
15. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/toplines/toplines_south_dakota_governor_june_10_2010/ Rasmussen Reports
16. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/election_2010_south_dakota_governor Rasmussen Reports
17. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/election_2010_south_dakota_governor Rasmussen Reports
18. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/south_dakota/toplines/toplines_2010_south_dakota_governor_race_february_23_2010/ Rasmussen Reports
19. http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_SD_1217.pdf Public Policy Polling