2020 South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election
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 County results Hanson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100% Bald Eagle: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2020 South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect one of three members of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. Incumbent Republican Gary Hanson was re-elected to a fourth term in office, defeating Democratic challenger Remi W. B. Bald Eagle in a landslide.[1]
Candidates
Nominee
- Gary Hanson, incumbent public utilities commissioner (2003–present)[2]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Remi W. B. Bald Eagle, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator[3]
Libertarian primary
General election
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Gary Hanson (R) |
Remi Bald Eagle (D) |
Devin Saxon (L) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielson Brothers Polling[5] | October 24–28, 2020 | 469 (LV) | ± 4.52% | 50% | 30% | 10% | 10% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Gary Hanson (incumbent) | 272,378 | 68.01% | ||
| Democratic | Remi W. B. Bald Eagle | 107,494 | 26.84% | ||
| Libertarian | Devin Saxon | 20,622 | 5.15% | ||
| Total votes | 400,494 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
By county
| County[6] | Gary Hanson Republican |
Remi W. B. Bald Eagle Democratic |
Devin Saxon Libertarian |
Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Aurora | 1,073 | 80.37% | 207 | 15.51% | 55 | 4.12% | 866 | 64.87% | 1,335 |
| Beadle | 5,131 | 75.41% | 1,372 | 20.16% | 301 | 4.42% | 3,759 | 55.25% | 6,804 |
| Bennett | 631 | 56.80% | 429 | 38.61% | 51 | 4.59% | 202 | 18.18% | 1,111 |
| Bon Homme | 2,193 | 77.74% | 491 | 17.41% | 137 | 4.86% | 1,702 | 60.33% | 2,821 |
| Brookings | 8,523 | 62.45% | 4,389 | 32.16% | 735 | 5.39% | 4,134 | 30.29% | 13,647 |
| Brown | 11,118 | 67.53% | 4,531 | 27.52% | 814 | 4.94% | 6,587 | 40.01% | 16,463 |
| Brule | 1,774 | 74.41% | 486 | 20.39% | 124 | 5.20% | 1,288 | 54.03% | 2,384 |
| Buffalo | 174 | 32.89% | 340 | 64.27% | 15 | 2.84% | -166 | -31.38% | 529 |
| Butte | 3,577 | 77.63% | 737 | 15.99% | 294 | 6.38% | 2,840 | 61.63% | 4,608 |
| Campbell | 734 | 87.90% | 75 | 8.98% | 26 | 3.11% | 659 | 78.92% | 835 |
| Charles Mix | 2,532 | 69.09% | 1,036 | 28.27% | 97 | 2.65% | 1,496 | 40.82% | 3,665 |
| Clark | 1,382 | 78.88% | 275 | 15.70% | 95 | 5.42% | 1,107 | 63.18% | 1,752 |
| Clay | 2,778 | 52.13% | 2,299 | 43.14% | 252 | 4.73% | 479 | 8.99% | 5,329 |
| Codington | 9,285 | 75.59% | 2,352 | 19.15% | 646 | 5.26% | 6,933 | 56.44% | 12,283 |
| Corson | 605 | 48.67% | 605 | 48.67% | 33 | 2.65% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,243 |
| Custer | 3,692 | 70.51% | 1,243 | 23.74% | 301 | 5.75% | 2,449 | 46.77% | 5,236 |
| Davison | 6,010 | 74.69% | 1,631 | 20.27% | 406 | 5.05% | 4,379 | 54.42% | 8,047 |
| Day | 1,999 | 71.60% | 666 | 23.85% | 127 | 4.55% | 1,333 | 47.74% | 2,792 |
| Deuel | 1,704 | 76.24% | 416 | 18.61% | 115 | 5.15% | 1,288 | 57.63% | 2,235 |
| Dewey | 694 | 36.41% | 1,149 | 60.28% | 63 | 3.31% | -455 | -23.87% | 1,906 |
| Douglas | 1,475 | 90.38% | 121 | 7.41% | 36 | 2.21% | 1,354 | 82.97% | 1,632 |
| Edmunds | 1,533 | 81.37% | 280 | 14.86% | 71 | 3.77% | 1,253 | 66.51% | 1,884 |
| Fall River | 2,789 | 71.90% | 836 | 21.55% | 254 | 6.55% | 1,953 | 50.35% | 3,879 |
| Faulk | 942 | 84.56% | 133 | 11.94% | 39 | 3.50% | 809 | 72.62% | 1,114 |
| Grant | 2,721 | 76.54% | 671 | 18.87% | 163 | 4.59% | 2,050 | 57.67% | 3,555 |
| Gregory | 1,732 | 80.56% | 358 | 16.65% | 60 | 2.79% | 1,374 | 63.91% | 2,150 |
| Haakon | 1,015 | 92.69% | 62 | 5.66% | 18 | 1.64% | 953 | 87.03% | 1,095 |
| Hamlin | 2,384 | 81.70% | 421 | 14.43% | 113 | 3.87% | 1,963 | 67.27% | 2,918 |
| Hand | 1,485 | 83.05% | 245 | 13.70% | 58 | 3.24% | 1,240 | 69.35% | 1,788 |
| Hanson | 1,758 | 78.55% | 404 | 18.05% | 76 | 3.40% | 1,354 | 60.50% | 2,238 |
| Harding | 690 | 89.38% | 50 | 6.48% | 32 | 4.15% | 640 | 82.90% | 772 |
| Hughes | 6,155 | 72.46% | 2,002 | 23.57% | 337 | 3.97% | 4,153 | 48.89% | 8,494 |
| Hutchinson | 3,002 | 84.37% | 449 | 12.62% | 107 | 3.01% | 2,553 | 71.75% | 3,558 |
| Hyde | 559 | 81.84% | 105 | 15.37% | 19 | 2.78% | 454 | 66.47% | 683 |
| Jackson | 708 | 65.80% | 334 | 31.04% | 34 | 3.16% | 374 | 34.76% | 1,076 |
| Jerauld | 752 | 78.17% | 186 | 19.33% | 24 | 2.49% | 566 | 58.84% | 962 |
| Jones | 481 | 83.65% | 68 | 11.83% | 26 | 4.52% | 413 | 71.83% | 575 |
| Kingsbury | 2,034 | 76.29% | 541 | 20.29% | 91 | 3.41% | 1,493 | 56.00% | 2,666 |
| Lake | 4,014 | 71.81% | 1,342 | 24.01% | 234 | 4.19% | 2,672 | 47.80% | 5,590 |
| Lawrence | 8,818 | 66.82% | 3,433 | 26.01% | 946 | 7.17% | 5,385 | 40.80% | 13,197 |
| Lincoln | 21,904 | 71.15% | 7,421 | 24.11% | 1,460 | 4.74% | 14,483 | 47.05% | 30,785 |
| Lyman | 1,043 | 67.73% | 445 | 28.90% | 52 | 3.38% | 598 | 38.83% | 1,540 |
| Marshall | 1,422 | 68.96% | 555 | 26.92% | 85 | 4.12% | 867 | 42.05% | 2,062 |
| McCook | 2,140 | 78.02% | 486 | 17.72% | 117 | 4.27% | 1,654 | 60.30% | 2,743 |
| McPherson | 1,074 | 85.92% | 133 | 10.64% | 43 | 3.44% | 941 | 75.28% | 1,250 |
| Meade | 9,489 | 73.42% | 2,468 | 19.10% | 967 | 7.48% | 7,021 | 54.33% | 12,924 |
| Mellette | 437 | 58.74% | 275 | 36.96% | 32 | 4.30% | 162 | 21.77% | 744 |
| Miner | 836 | 76.84% | 200 | 18.38% | 52 | 4.78% | 636 | 58.46% | 1,088 |
| Minnehaha | 55,106 | 63.16% | 27,568 | 31.60% | 4,569 | 5.24% | 27,538 | 31.56% | 87,243 |
| Moody | 2,041 | 66.44% | 915 | 29.79% | 116 | 3.78% | 1,126 | 36.65% | 3,072 |
| Oglala Lakota | 257 | 8.14% | 2,824 | 89.40% | 78 | 2.47% | -2,567 | -81.26% | 3,159 |
| Pennington | 34,684 | 63.96% | 15,847 | 29.22% | 3,697 | 6.82% | 18,837 | 34.74% | 54,228 |
| Perkins | 1,302 | 82.51% | 191 | 12.10% | 85 | 5.39% | 1,111 | 70.41% | 1,578 |
| Potter | 1,155 | 87.17% | 133 | 10.04% | 37 | 2.79% | 1,022 | 77.13% | 1,325 |
| Roberts | 2,593 | 62.53% | 1,410 | 34.00% | 144 | 3.47% | 1,183 | 28.53% | 4,147 |
| Sanborn | 874 | 78.53% | 197 | 17.70% | 42 | 3.77% | 677 | 60.83% | 1,113 |
| Spink | 2,229 | 74.42% | 634 | 21.17% | 132 | 4.41% | 1,595 | 53.26% | 2,995 |
| Stanley | 1,234 | 77.61% | 308 | 19.37% | 48 | 3.02% | 926 | 58.24% | 1,590 |
| Sully | 735 | 81.94% | 133 | 14.83% | 29 | 3.23% | 602 | 67.11% | 897 |
| Todd | 479 | 19.46% | 1,915 | 77.78% | 68 | 2.76% | -1,436 | -58.33% | 2,462 |
| Tripp | 2,125 | 82.33% | 377 | 14.61% | 79 | 3.06% | 1,748 | 67.73% | 2,581 |
| Turner | 3,474 | 79.59% | 707 | 16.20% | 184 | 4.22% | 2,767 | 63.39% | 4,365 |
| Union | 6,013 | 72.19% | 1,941 | 23.30% | 375 | 4.50% | 4,072 | 48.89% | 8,329 |
| Walworth | 1,978 | 79.79% | 420 | 16.94% | 81 | 3.27% | 1,558 | 62.85% | 2,479 |
| Yankton | 6,737 | 66.98% | 2,748 | 27.32% | 573 | 5.70% | 3,989 | 39.66% | 10,058 |
| Ziebach | 361 | 40.74% | 473 | 53.39% | 52 | 5.87% | -112 | -12.64% | 886 |
| Totals | 272,378 | 68.01% | 107,494 | 26.84% | 20,622 | 5.15% | 164,884 | 41.17% | 400,494 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Tied
- Corson (largest city: McLaughlin)
Notes
- ↑ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
- ↑ Tuchscherer, Rebekah. "Hanson wins PUC race, elected to fourth term". Aberdeen News. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Gary Hanson Running for Re-election to the SD Public Utilities Commission". WNAX. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
- ↑ Eagle, Alaina Beautiful Bald (June 25, 2020). "Bald Eagle selected as Democratic candidate for State PUC - West River Eagle". West River Eagle. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
- ↑ Willson, Edward Klump, Kristi E. Swartz, Miranda (October 28, 2020). "Forget Trump-Biden. Electricity hinges on these races". E&E News by POLITICO. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Nielson Brothers Polling
- 1 2 Barnett, Steve (November 10, 2020). "2020 General Election Official State Canvass Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of South Dakota. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2026.