RESULTS: South Dakota holds primary elections, with Gov. Kristi Noem and Sen. John Thune easily winning their GOP nominations
South Dakota held primary elections for local, gubernatorial, and congressional offices on Tuesday. Polls are now closed in the state.
The races and the stakes
In the US Senate race, GOP Sen. John Thune won his primary battle, and will advance to the general election to fight for a 4th term this November. Thune will face off against Democrat Brian Bengs.
Also Tuesday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem won her Republican primary as she seeks to secure another term in office this November. She beat state Rep. Steven Haugaard. Noem will go up against Democratic state Rep. Jamie Smith in November.
South Dakota has one at-large congressional district which is currently held by Rep. Dusty Johnson, who defeated state Rep. Taffy Howard in the GOP primary. According to the experts at Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, the race is rated as "Safe R" come November.
All 35 of South Dakota's state senate seats are up for election this Tuesday and in November, in addition to all 70 seats in the state assembly.