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 Gordon Howie, State Senator Dave Knudson, State Senate Majority Leader Ken Knuppe, rancherDrew Sandholm. "INTERVIEW: Ken Knuppe On Education", ABC News affiliate KSFY-TV. July 3, 2009. Scott Munsterman, former mayor of Brookings

Results

Democratic primary Candidate

Scott Heidepriem, State Senate Minority LeaderEmily Caldei Heidepriem Fills Party's South Dakota Gov Gap . July 28, 2009. Eye on 2010 Blog, CQPolitics.com

Results Heidepriem faced no opposition in the Democratic primary.

General election Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 14, 2010 Rothenberg October 28, 2010 RealClearPolitics November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 28, 2010 CQ Politics October 28, 2010

Polling Poll source Dates administered Dennis Daugaard (R) Scott Heidepriem (D)Nielson Brothers PollingNielson Brothers Polling October 20–22, 2010 43% 40%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 20, 2010 55% 36%Rasmussen Reports October 9, 2010 57% 37%Rasmussen Reports September 8, 2010 57% 28%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports August 3, 2010 59% 27%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports July 6, 2010 52% 35%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 10, 2010 52% 36%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports May 26, 2010 51% 36%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports April 21, 2010 53% 33%Rasmussen Reports March 25, 2010 49% 32%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports February 23, 2010 41% 32%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling December 10–13, 2009 42% 29%

Results

By county CountyDennis DaugaardRepublicanScott HeidepriemDemocraticMarginTotal#%#%#%Aurora78857.10%59242.90%19614.20%1,380Beadle3,93157.11%2,95242.89%97914.22%6,883Bennett61959.86%41540.14%20419.73%1,034Bon Homme1,55355.27%1,25744.73%29610.53%2,810Brookings6,55559.45%4,47140.55%2,08418.90%11,026Brown8,54159.49%5,81640.51%2,72518.98%14,357Brule1,30161.14%82738.86%47422.27%2,128Buffalo12427.74%32372.26%-199-44.52%447Butte2,57570.16%1,09529.84%1,48040.33%3,670Campbell61678.77%16621.23%45057.54%782Charles Mix2,10760.23%1,39139.77%71620.47%3,498Clark97958.24%70241.76%27716.48%1,681Clay2,30249.60%2,33950.40%-37-0.80%4,641Codington6,35261.91%3,90838.09%2,44423.82%10,260Corson42549.94%42650.06%-1-0.12%851Custer2,59865.94%1,34234.06%1,25631.88%3,940Davison4,57563.16%2,66836.84%1,90726.33%7,243Day1,32148.32%1,41351.68%-92-3.37%2,734Deuel1,18458.12%85341.88%33116.25%2,037Dewey65542.62%88257.38%-227-14.77%1,537Douglas1,25576.01%39623.99%85952.03%1,651Edmunds1,13163.50%65036.50%48127.01%1,781Fall River2,02566.03%1,04233.97%98332.05%3,067Faulk69363.75%39436.25%29927.51%1,087Grant2,08760.37%1,37039.63%71720.74%3,457Gregory1,30763.94%73736.06%57027.89%2,044Haakon78376.09%24623.91%53752.19%1,029Hamlin1,69264.24%94235.76%75028.47%2,634Hand96752.58%87247.42%955.17%1,839Hanson1,17067.79%55632.21%61435.57%1,726Harding46569.30%20630.70%25938.60%671Hughes5,62672.94%2,08727.06%3,53945.88%7,713Hutchinson2,09165.94%1,08034.06%1,01131.88%3,171Hyde48367.36%23432.64%24934.73%717Jackson61464.70%33535.30%27929.40%949Jerauld61154.21%51645.79%958.43%1,127Jones42773.75%15226.25%27547.50%579Kingsbury1,42657.92%1,03642.08%39015.84%2,462Lake3,22562.62%1,92537.38%1,30025.24%5,150Lawrence6,39763.19%3,72636.81%2,67126.39%10,123Lincoln11,83166.03%6,08733.97%5,74432.06%17,918Lyman84060.78%54239.22%29821.56%1,382Marshall96552.47%87447.53%914.95%1,839McCook1,51760.58%98739.42%53021.17%2,504McPherson90175.40%29424.60%60750.79%1,195Meade6,44769.40%2,84330.60%3,60438.79%9,290Mellette40254.03%34245.97%608.06%744Miner59553.27%52246.73%736.54%1,117Minnehaha38,31459.09%26,52840.91%11,78618.18%64,842Moody1,53456.19%1,19643.81%33812.38%2,730Pennington24,44366.49%12,31933.51%12,12432.98%36,762Perkins84362.35%50937.65%33424.70%1,352Potter93671.45%37428.55%56242.90%1,310Roberts1,85248.63%1,95651.37%-104-2.73%3,808Sanborn67358.17%48441.83%18916.34%1,157Shannon42317.76%1,95982.24%-1,536-64.48%2,382Spink1,64456.28%1,27743.72%36712.56%2,921Stanley95066.85%47133.15%47933.71%1,421Sully52971.49%21128.51%31842.97%740Todd63032.24%1,32467.76%-694-35.52%1,954Tripp1,74569.52%76530.48%98039.04%2,510Turner2,29060.34%1,50539.66%78520.69%3,795Union3,87464.83%2,10235.17%1,77229.65%5,976Walworth1,59571.69%63028.31%96543.37%2,225Yankton5,40662.67%3,22037.33%2,18625.34%8,626Ziebach29143.63%37656.37%-85-12.74%667Totals195,04661.51%122,03738.49%73,00923.03%317,083

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Corson (Largest city: McLaughlin) Day (largest city: Webster) Dewey (Largest city: North Eagle Butte) Roberts (largest city: Sisseton) Ziebach (largest city: Dupree)

References

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