akashic
1876–2024
State Senate District 7·South Dakota

South Dakota 7th State Senate District: a sparse county on the political map.

A reliably Republican district anchored in western South Dakota's ranching country

20082020·4 elections
SD
Latest
R+13
in 2020
Archetype
Frontier
since the recent cycles
Population
26,511
2024 ACS

South Dakota 7th State Senate District, South Dakota: Frontier district. In 2020, voted R+13%. Republican peak: R+15 in 2016.

Key facts

2020 presidential margin
R+13MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
FrontierAkashic typology
Population
26,5112024 5-year
Median household income
$70,0642024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
87.9%2024 5-year
Black
1.1%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
4.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+6 in 2008MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+15 in 2016MIT Election Lab
1 counties · 0 D · 1 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−13.0%
4,5825,99910,924
R
−14.7%
3,6595,0609,509
R
−3.2%
4,3704,6649,299
D
+5.6%
5,4044,82310,457

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
38.5%
Irish
10.4%
English
7.4%
American
1.5%
Polish
1.4%
French
1.3%
Scottish
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European4.2%
Spanish3.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Mainline Protestant
24.2%
Catholic & Orthodox
10.4%
Other Christian
6.7%
Pentecostal & Holiness
6.4%
Methodist
2.4%
Non-Christian
0.5%
Baptist
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

With a 2024 presidential margin of R+26.4 across a sparsely populated 26,511 residents, this district reflects the deep-red voting patterns typical of rural western South Dakota, where agriculture and extractive industries shape both the economy and the electorate.

The pattern that emerged was Republican-leaning, in line with much of the rural West. The 2020 margin was thirteen points. The widest margin in modern history was fifteen points in 2016.

The population is 26,511, among the smaller at this geographic scale. The district's political character reflects the sparse, rural West more than any national alignment.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State Senate District 7, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/sld-upper/46007/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 7, South Dakota vote in 2020?
In 2020, State Senate District 7, South Dakota voted Republican by 13.0 points (R+13), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 10,924 votes cast, 4,582 went Democratic and 5,999 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 7, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 7, South Dakota as a "Frontier" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 4 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 1 times, Republican 3 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 7, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 7, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in State Senate District 7, South Dakota?
State Senate District 7, South Dakota has a population of 26,511 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State Senate District 7, South Dakota?
Median household income in State Senate District 7, South Dakota is $70,064 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of State Senate District 7, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 4 presidential elections in State Senate District 7, South Dakota from 2008 to 2020. Of those, 1 went Democratic and 3 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Frontier" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.