2022 South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election
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The 2022 South Dakota Public Utilities Commission election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect one of three members of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. Incumbent Republican Chris Nelson was re-elected to a second full term in office, defeating Democratic challenger Jeffrey Barth in a landslide.[1]
Candidates
Nominee
- Chris Nelson, incumbent public utilities commissioner (2011–present)[2]
Democratic primary
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris Nelson (incumbent) | 227,167 | 68.72% | −6.66% | |
| Democratic | Jeffrey Barth | 103,384 | 31.28% | +6.66% | |
| Total votes | 330,551 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
By county
| County[4] | Chris Nelson Republican |
Jeffrey Barth Democratic |
Margin | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Aurora | 973 | 83.38% | 194 | 16.62% | 779 | 66.75% | 1,167 |
| Beadle | 4,163 | 74.02% | 1,461 | 25.98% | 2,702 | 48.04% | 5,624 |
| Bennett | 610 | 63.67% | 348 | 36.33% | 262 | 27.35% | 958 |
| Bon Homme | 1,855 | 76.37% | 574 | 23.63% | 1,281 | 52.74% | 2,429 |
| Brookings | 7,605 | 65.46% | 4,013 | 34.54% | 3,592 | 30.92% | 11,618 |
| Brown | 8,946 | 67.64% | 4,280 | 32.36% | 4,666 | 35.28% | 13,226 |
| Brule | 1,501 | 75.35% | 491 | 24.65% | 1,010 | 50.70% | 1,992 |
| Buffalo | 153 | 40.80% | 222 | 59.20% | -69 | -18.40% | 375 |
| Butte | 3,298 | 81.96% | 726 | 18.04% | 2,572 | 63.92% | 4,024 |
| Campbell | 571 | 88.80% | 72 | 11.20% | 499 | 77.60% | 643 |
| Charles Mix | 2,205 | 73.80% | 783 | 26.20% | 1,422 | 47.59% | 2,988 |
| Clark | 1,210 | 80.29% | 297 | 19.71% | 913 | 60.58% | 1,507 |
| Clay | 2,333 | 52.43% | 2,117 | 47.57% | 216 | 4.85% | 4,450 |
| Codington | 7,729 | 74.95% | 2,583 | 25.05% | 5,146 | 49.90% | 10,312 |
| Corson | 514 | 57.88% | 374 | 42.12% | 140 | 15.77% | 888 |
| Custer | 3,733 | 76.86% | 1,124 | 23.14% | 2,609 | 53.72% | 4,857 |
| Davison | 5,159 | 74.88% | 1,731 | 25.12% | 3,428 | 49.75% | 6,890 |
| Day | 1,638 | 68.91% | 739 | 31.09% | 899 | 37.82% | 2,377 |
| Deuel | 1,491 | 77.98% | 421 | 22.02% | 1,070 | 55.96% | 1,912 |
| Dewey | 677 | 45.10% | 824 | 54.90% | -147 | -9.79% | 1,501 |
| Douglas | 1,280 | 91.23% | 123 | 8.77% | 1,157 | 82.47% | 1,403 |
| Edmunds | 1,316 | 81.94% | 290 | 18.06% | 1,026 | 63.89% | 1,606 |
| Fall River | 2,719 | 77.51% | 789 | 22.49% | 1,930 | 55.02% | 3,508 |
| Faulk | 780 | 85.62% | 131 | 14.38% | 649 | 71.24% | 911 |
| Grant | 2,350 | 77.61% | 678 | 22.39% | 1,672 | 55.22% | 3,028 |
| Gregory | 1,607 | 82.33% | 345 | 17.67% | 1,262 | 64.65% | 1,952 |
| Haakon | 867 | 91.46% | 81 | 8.54% | 786 | 82.91% | 948 |
| Hamlin | 2,141 | 82.76% | 446 | 17.24% | 1,695 | 65.52% | 2,587 |
| Hand | 1,159 | 80.43% | 282 | 19.57% | 877 | 60.86% | 1,441 |
| Hanson | 1,269 | 81.82% | 282 | 18.18% | 987 | 63.64% | 1,551 |
| Harding | 611 | 94.73% | 34 | 5.27% | 577 | 89.46% | 645 |
| Hughes | 5,508 | 75.93% | 1,746 | 24.07% | 3,762 | 51.86% | 7,254 |
| Hutchinson | 2,531 | 83.78% | 490 | 16.22% | 2,041 | 67.56% | 3,021 |
| Hyde | 436 | 78.56% | 119 | 21.44% | 317 | 57.12% | 555 |
| Jackson | 638 | 71.13% | 259 | 28.87% | 379 | 42.25% | 897 |
| Jerauld | 651 | 78.15% | 182 | 21.85% | 469 | 56.30% | 833 |
| Jones | 402 | 87.77% | 56 | 12.23% | 346 | 75.55% | 458 |
| Kingsbury | 1,848 | 76.94% | 554 | 23.06% | 1,294 | 53.87% | 2,402 |
| Lake | 3,369 | 71.77% | 1,325 | 28.23% | 2,044 | 43.54% | 4,694 |
| Lawrence | 8,121 | 70.16% | 3,454 | 29.84% | 4,667 | 40.32% | 11,575 |
| Lincoln | 17,898 | 67.90% | 8,462 | 32.10% | 9,436 | 35.80% | 26,360 |
| Lyman | 912 | 73.79% | 324 | 26.21% | 588 | 47.57% | 1,236 |
| Marshall | 1,168 | 66.25% | 595 | 33.75% | 573 | 32.50% | 1,763 |
| McCook | 1,898 | 78.40% | 523 | 21.60% | 1,375 | 56.79% | 2,421 |
| McPherson | 882 | 82.58% | 186 | 17.42% | 696 | 65.17% | 1,068 |
| Meade | 8,751 | 78.09% | 2,456 | 21.91% | 6,295 | 56.17% | 11,207 |
| Mellette | 400 | 66.33% | 203 | 33.67% | 197 | 32.67% | 603 |
| Miner | 738 | 78.43% | 203 | 21.57% | 535 | 56.85% | 941 |
| Minnehaha | 41,364 | 59.15% | 28,572 | 40.85% | 12,792 | 18.29% | 69,936 |
| Moody | 1,643 | 64.97% | 886 | 35.03% | 757 | 29.93% | 2,529 |
| Oglala Lakota | 279 | 12.06% | 2,035 | 87.94% | -1,756 | -75.89% | 2,314 |
| Pennington | 28,934 | 67.80% | 13,742 | 32.20% | 15,192 | 35.60% | 42,676 |
| Perkins | 1,132 | 87.62% | 160 | 12.38% | 972 | 75.23% | 1,292 |
| Potter | 914 | 86.39% | 144 | 13.61% | 770 | 72.78% | 1,058 |
| Roberts | 2,122 | 63.42% | 1,224 | 36.58% | 898 | 26.84% | 3,346 |
| Sanborn | 759 | 79.73% | 193 | 20.27% | 566 | 59.45% | 952 |
| Spink | 1,893 | 73.57% | 680 | 26.43% | 1,213 | 47.14% | 2,573 |
| Stanley | 1,114 | 79.46% | 288 | 20.54% | 826 | 58.92% | 1,402 |
| Sully | 619 | 80.08% | 154 | 19.92% | 465 | 60.16% | 773 |
| Todd | 476 | 25.66% | 1,379 | 74.34% | -903 | -48.68% | 1,855 |
| Tripp | 1,857 | 84.87% | 331 | 15.13% | 1,526 | 69.74% | 2,188 |
| Turner | 2,958 | 79.64% | 756 | 20.36% | 2,202 | 59.29% | 3,714 |
| Union | 4,831 | 74.89% | 1,620 | 25.11% | 3,211 | 49.78% | 6,451 |
| Walworth | 1,623 | 82.51% | 344 | 17.49% | 1,279 | 65.02% | 1,967 |
| Yankton | 5,687 | 68.69% | 2,592 | 31.31% | 3,095 | 37.38% | 8,279 |
| Ziebach | 348 | 54.38% | 292 | 45.63% | 56 | 8.75% | 640 |
| Totals | 227,167 | 68.72% | 103,384 | 31.28% | 123,783 | 37.45% | 330,551 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Swing by countyLegend
- Democratic — +>15%
- Democratic — +12.5–15%
- Democratic — +10-12.5%
- Democratic — +7.5–10%
- Democratic — +5-7.5%
- Democratic — +2.5-5%
- Democratic — +0-2.5%
- Republican — +0-2.5%
- Republican — +2.5-5%
- Republican — +5-7.5%
- Republican — +7.5–10%
- Republican — +10-12.5%
Trend by countyLegend
- Democratic — +10-12.5%
- Democratic — +2.5-5%
- Democratic — +0-2.5%
- Republican — +0-2.5%
- Republican — +2.5-5%
- Republican — +5-7.5%
- Republican — +7.5–10%
- Republican — +10-12.5%
- Republican — +12.5–15%
- Republican — +>15%
County flipsLegend
-
Democratic
HoldRepublican
HoldGain from Democratic
References
- ↑ "Chris Nelson Reelected to the SD PUC | Radio 570 WNAX". wnax.com. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ "Chris Nelson Running for Re-Election to the PUC | Radio 570 WNAX". wnax.com. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ "www.argusleader.com/story/news/2022/07/11/puc-head-dispels-allegations-unfettered-power-democrat-opponent-ahead-november-elections/10029519002/". argusleader.com. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- 1 2 Barnett, Steve (November 15, 2022). "2022 General Election Official State Canvass Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of South Dakota. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 16, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2026.